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The  Book  of  the   Child 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

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http://www.archive.org/details/bookofchildattemOOhowfrich 


The 

Book  of  the  Child 

An  Attempt  to  set  down  what 
is   in   the   mind   of    Children 


Frederick    Douglas    How 


E.     P.     BUTTON     AND     COMPANY 
31   WEST  23RD  STREET,  NEW  YORK 

1907 


Printed  by 

Sir  Isaac  Pitman  &  Sons,  Ltd., 

Bath,  England. 

(2319) 


\ 


Preface 

I  AM  rather  shy  about  this  little  book. 

If  it  were  not  for  the  kindness  of  some  few 
friends  whose  knowledge  of  children  far 
exceeds  my  own,  it  would  never  have  seen 
the  light. 

For  their  encouragement  and  for  the  gift 
of  their  experiences  and  advice  I  am  deeply 
grateful.  I  know  that  they  would  rather 
I  did  not  mention  them  by  name. 

The  thoughts  which  I  have  tried  to  put 
together  have  l)een  growing  in  my  mind  for 
years.  Some,  in  fact,  I  have  quoted  from 
articles  I  wrote  some  time  ago  for  a  magazine 
no  longer  in  existence. 

Perhaps  my  best  excuse  for  letting  this 
book  appear  is  that,  though  I  have  no 
children  of  my  own,  other  people's  children 
have  always  been  very  good  to  me. 

F.  D.  How. 

May,  1907. 

270641 


Contents 


cirAr.  PAGE 

I.  THE   CHILD ITS   ARRIVAL  .                9 

II.  THE   CHILD — ITS   MEMORY        .  .       24 

III.  THE   CHILD — ITS  IMAGINATION  .            37 

IV.  THE   CHILD-  ITS   RELIGION       .  .        66 
V.  THE  CHILD — ITS   IMITATION  .            96 

VI.  THE   CHILD — ITS  PLEASURES   .  .112 

VII.  THE   CHILD — ^ITS    PATHOS  .           136 

VIII.  WAYSIDE   CHILDREN           .           .  .     162 

IX.  children's    MEETINGS          .  .           176 

X.  APPENDIX 187 


The  Book  of  the  Child 

CHAPTER  I 

THE   CHILD — ITS  ARRIVAL 

Children  have  come  into  greater  pro- 
minence during  the  last  quarter  of  a 
century  than  ever  before  in  the  history 
of  this  country.  Many  things  have  been 
written  about  them,  many  things  have 
been  done  for  them, — ^some  fooHsh  and 
some  wise,  but  all  suggested  by  a  newly 
aroused  sense  of  the  vital  importance 
attached  to  their  proper  upbringing. 
It  is,  of  course,  true  that  the  Cause  of 

the  Children  has  been  used 

The  Cause    by  both  political  parties  for 

Children.     their    own     purposes,    but, 

for  all  that,  there  has  been 
a     large     amount     of     most     valuable 


10  BOOK   OF  THE  CHILD 

legislation  on  the  subject  during  the  last 
twenty  years.*  The  helpless  ness  of  chil- 
dren   and    their    rights    as 
foSidren.  citizens  of  this  country  have 
been  better  understood  and 
provided    for,    while    their    impression- 
able  nature   has  been  reahsed,  and  the 
rigour  of    their    training    and   discipline 
considerably  modified. 

It  may  be  that  there  has  been  too  great 

a  change  in  some  directions.     There  may 

be  a  freedom  of  intercourse 

The  Better    between  children  and  their 

Children,      parents     or    teachers    that 

borders  on  disrespect.     But 

taking  one  thing  with  another  the  position 

of  children  has  altered  for  the  better,  and 

it  is  no  bad  thing  that  few  subjects  have 

greater  interest  at  the  present  day  than 

that  of  Children.     It  is  an  interest,  too, 

that  has  come  to  stay.     Of  a  distinctly 

softening  and  refining  nature  hke  the  taste 

for  gardening,  which  has  brought  into  the 

*  See  Appendix. 


THE   CHILD'S   ARRIVAL        11 

world  so  many  books  during  the  last  few 
years,  it  is  only  now  beginning  to  reveal 
its  true  importance,  and  it  will  increase 
as  from  year  to  year  more  people  perceive 
its  fascination  and  trace  its  results. 

Sixty  or  seventy  years  ago  the  chief 
interest  in  children  shown  by  parents  and 
teachers  was  of  an  extremely 
^DSunr"^  discipHnary  nature.  Many 
children  were  not  allowed  to 
sit  down  without  permission  when  in  their 
parents'  presence,  and  it  was  in  many 
families  the  rule  that  the  father  and 
mother  should  be  addressed  as  "  Sir " 
and  "  Ma'am."  Teachers  of  both  sexes 
ruled  mainly  by  fear,  and  allowed  no 
intimacy  between  themselves  and  their 
pupils.  The  rigour  of  such  upbringing 
and  education  must  have  withered  many 
a  tender-natured  child  as  a  cold  black 
wind  in  spring  will  shrivel  the  opening 
blossoms  of  the  fruit  trees. 

Among  the  working  classes,  until  the 


12        BOOK  OF  THE  CHILD 

Church  began  to  establish  its  schools,  the 

children   grew   up   anyhow,    and    could 

in  few  cases  read  or   write. 

oi^^l^PooT.   Ii^fa^t    mortality    and    un- 
healthy conditions  of  child- 
hood   were    prevalent.      So    much    was 
this  the  case  that  in   1847,  while   httle 
was    yet      being     thought 
Metropolitan  or  written    about    Children, 

Working 

Classes'      the    Metropohtan    Working 

Association.     ^^  ,     ^  •    j.-         r        t 

Classes  Association  for  Im- 
proving the  Public  Health 
actually  put  out  a  pamphlet  on  their 
proper  rearing  and  training.  This  docu- 
ment had  some  considerable  circulation, 
but  its  usefulness  must  have  been  greatly 
curtailed  by  the  inabihty  of  so  many 
people  in  those  days  to  read. 

Before  this  pubUcation  the  literature 

on   the  subject   of  children 
Literature 

Concerning    was  extremely  scanty.     Not 

only  was  this  the  case  but 

those   people    who    did    from    time    to 


THE  CHILD'S  ARRIVAL        13 

time  write  on  the  subject  seem  to  have 

been   ashamed    of    doing  so,   and   their 

works,    appearing    once    or    twice    in    a 

century,  are  for  the  most  part  anonymous. 

There    exists    a    treatise    printed    by 

Cantreli  Legge,  printer  to  the  University 

of  Cambridge,   in   the  year 

The  Office  of  1616,   with  the  title   ''  The 

Christian 

Parents.  Office  of  Christian  Parents, 
showing  how  Children  are 
to  be  governed  throughout  all  ages  and 
times  of  their  life.  With  a  brief  Admoni" 
torie  addition  unto  children  to  answer  in 
dutie  to  their  Parents'  office." 

The  writer,  whoever  he  may  have  been, 

appears  to  have  at  that  very  early  date 

grasped   the   importance   of 

^**^^Tth  ^^^  ^^^    subject,    for    he    says, 
Mother.       "  The  Parent  is  put  in  trust 
to  goveme  the  chiefest  crea- 
ture under  heaven,  to  train  up  that  which 
is  called  the  Generation  of  God."     Being 
thus  impressed  with  the  value  of  children. 


14         BOOK   OF  THE  CHILD 

it  is  natural  to  find  the  author  of  the 

treatise  giving  advice  that  is  being  more 

and  more  strongly  urged  upon  parents  at 

the  present  day.    Eminent  doctors  insist 

upon  the  advantage  to  infants  of  being 

personally  cared  for  by  the  mother,  and 

not    handed  over  wholesale  to  a  nurse. 

Educational  experts  are  more  and  more 

inclined  to  take  the  view  that  children 

should  be  kept  at  home  as  long  as  possible. 

So  far,  indeed,  has  this  theory 

Extinction     advanced    that    there    is    a 

of  Boarding   suggestion   of   the   ultimate 

Schools.  ^^ 

extinction  of  our  great  public 
boarding  schools  in  favour  of  a  larger 
number  of  schools  so  situated  that  children 
may  attend  them  as  day  scholars  while 
still  living  at  home  imder  parental  care 
and  influence. 

The  old  writer  of  1616  made  a  strong 
point  of  the  child  being  cared  for  by  its 
parents  from  birth  onwards.  He  (possibly 
from  personal  experience)  did   not  even 


THE  CHILD'S  ARRIVAL        15 

approve  of  the  interference  of  the  grand- 
mother, for  he   quaintly  observes,   "  In 
some  places  there  comes  in 
Interference   ^^g    child  -  wive's     mother. 

of  the 
Grandmother.  She     will     not     have      her 

daughter  troubled  with  the 

noursing :  and  the  Father  cannot  abide 

the  crying  of  the  child  :  therefore  a  nurse 

is  sent  for  in  all  hast  " — a  course  of  action 

of  which  he  entirely  disapproves. 

When  the  child  is  a  little  older 
he  still  thinks  that  its  committal  to 
\the  care  of  a  servant  should  be 
avoided. 

"  Wlien  a  child  beginneth  to  know  liis 
mother  from  another,  there  groweth  two 
absurdities,  either  the  mother's  fondness 
maketh  it  a  crying  child  and  restless,  or 
els  her  careless  committing  it  to  a  servant 
spills  it." 

Here  comes  in  also  his  first  advice  as  to 
the  disciplining  of  a  child.  He  appears  to 
have  held  strong  views  as  to  the  necessity 


16        BOOK  OF  THE  CHILD 

of  firmness,  but  not  to  have  been  in 
favour  of  the  great  severity  which  often 
obtained  in  those  days.  His 
o?'chfl&  observations  are  too  valu- 
able even  now  to  be  passed 
over.  What  could  be  better  than  the 
following  ?  "  Here  cometh  in  the  cockling 
of  the  parents  to  give  the  child  the  sway  of 
his  owne  desires  to  have  whatsoever  it 
pointeth  to,  and  so  it  maketh  the  parents 
and  all  the  house  slaves,  and  there  is  no  end 
of  noyse,  of  crying,  and  wraling ;  or  els 
there  is  such  severitie  as  the  heart  of  the 
child  is  utterly  broken."  Or  again, 
"  When  parents  do  either  too  much  cockle 
their  children,  or  by  home  example  do 
draw  them  to  worser  things,  or  els  neglect 
the  due  discipline  and  good  order,  what 
I  pray  you  can  come  to  passe  ?  but  as 
we  see  in  trees  which  beeing  neglected  at 
the  first  are  crooked  and  unfruitful ; 
contrarily,  they  which  by  the  hand  and 
art    of    the    husbandman    are    proined. 


THE  CHILD'S   ARRIVAL        17 

stayed  up,  and  watered,  are  made  upright, 

faire,  and  fruitful!." 

It  will  be  observed  that   this  writer 

implies  in  all  the  advice  he  gives  that  the 

parent  is  the  proper  person  to 

Parents  to     bring    up    a    child,    not    a 
Superintend  ^        ^ 

their        servant  at  home  or  a  teacher 

Upbringing,    ^t  a  distance.      "  Parents," 

he  says,  '*  should  watch  and 

attend  upon  their  children  for  the  avoiding 

of  evil  occasions  and  to  see  all  duties 

rightly  performed." 

How  far  have  we  got  nowadays  from 

this  ideal !     How  greatly  modern  habits 

of   life   have   interfered   with   any  such 

possibility  !     What  the  ancient  morahst 

quoted   above   would  have   said  to   the 

upbringing  of  most  children  at  the  present 

day  it  is  difficult  to  imagine.     He  sums 

up  his  own  point  of  view  very  pithily  in 

the  words,  "  The  egges  are  badly  hatched 

when  the  bird  is  away  ;   and  the  children 

are  unluckily  nurtured  whose  parents  are 
2— (3319) 


18        BOOK  OF  THE  CHILD 

made  careles,  being  absent  through 
pleasure." 

More  than  a  century  later,  in   1748, 

there      appeared     another     anonymous 

publication  on  the  subject. 

Old-fashioned  This  had  for  its  title  ''  Dia- 

Severity      logues     on     the     Passions, 
Leads  to  ° 

Dissimulation.  Habits,  and  Affections  pecu- 
•  har  to  Children."  The  writer 

was  imbued  with  ideas  so  far  in  advance 
of  his  time  that  fear  of  ridicule  may  have 
caused  him  to  conceal  his  name.  His 
sentiments  about  the  proper  treatment 
of  children  are  very  much  those  at  which 
most  people  have  arrived  to-day,  when 
the  subject  has  received  much  prominent 
attention  for  a  quarter  of  a  century.  He 
combats  the  prevailing  opinion  of  that 
date  that  the  right  way  to  deal  with 
children  is  by  a  system  of  formal  repression 
and  severity.  Thus  he  makes  one  of  his 
characters  say,  ''  I  think  it  necessary  that 
Children  should  be  kept  at  some  distance. 


THE  CHILD'S  ARRIVAL        19 

They  are  apt  to  grow  pert,  sawcy,  and 
ungovernable  if  we  make  too  free  with 
them,  or  permit  them  the  full  liberty  of 
speech  in  our  Company."  To  this  the 
reply  is  made  :  "To  discover  the  Diseases 
of  the  mind  ought  to  be  and  must  be  your 
principal  study.  But  in  this  you  will 
never  be  successful  if  you  set  out  with  a 
practice  which  teaches  them  to  conceal 
every  bad  symptom." 

The  truth  contained  in  these  words  is 

very  generally  recognised  nowadays.     If 

a  parent  wants  to  make  a 

^ilytnl  ^^^^  untruthful  it  can  be 
done  at  once  by  causing  fear, 
under  the  guise  perhaps  of  respect,  to  be 
the  ruling  sentiment.  Children  are  only 
too  ready  to  learn  !  ''As  soon  as  they 
are  born  they  go  astray  and  speak  lies." 
It  is  a  tendency  of  childhood  in  every  class. 
A  gentleman  whose  work  consists  in 
preparing  little  boys  for  the  great  public 
schools  once  said  that  almost  every  small 


20         BOOK   OF  THE  CHILD 

'^^  boy  passes  through  a  phase  of  lying.  The 
mistress  of  a  Uttle  village  school  declared 
not  long  ago  that  there  was  only  one  child 
there  upon  whose  word  she  could 
absolutely  rely. 

It  follows  then  that  those  in  charge 
of  children,  and  especially  the  parents, 
should  note  the  advice  of  the  writer  of  the 
Dialogues.  He  insists  again  and  again 
upon  the  evil  effects  of  fear. 

"  Fear,"  he  says,  "  I  think  is  the  first 

^  Passion  which  we  can  distinctly  trace  in 

the  Mind  of  a  Child.    They 

Children      ^j.^  susceptible  of  it  almost 

Susceptible  ^ 

of  Fear.  sooner  than  they  can  con- 
ceive the  Nature  of  Danger  ; 
and  it  is  the  Misfortune  of  Numbers  that 
the  Nurses  find  this  so  easily  improved 
to  their  purposes  that  Children  find  the 
effects  of  this  passion  as  long  as  they  live." 
Again,  "As  to  Dread  of  Punishment 
which  I  have  observed  to  be  the  lowest 
and  most   grovelling  kind  of   Fear,   you 


THE   CHILD'S  ARRIVAL        21 

must  by  gentle  usage  remove  it  from  the 
apprehension  of  such  as  have  imbibed  it 
from  harsh  Parents  or  tyrannical  Nurses." 

It  is  exceedingly  remarkable  to  find  a 
writer  in  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth 
century  who  had  studied  children  to  such 
purpose,  and  who  ventured  to  advance 
opinions  such  as  those  quoted  above. 

The  latter  part  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury saw  a  rush  of  literature  concerning 
children.  It  is  possible  that 
Literature  of  ^j^^  great  public  efforts  made 
Century.  by  the  various  agencies  for 
bettering  the  lot  of  homeless, 
starving,  and  ill-treated  children  began 
to  call  special  attention  to  the  treatment 
of  all  children.  It  may  be  that  the  general 
tendency  of  the  age  to  level  all  distinctions 
between  one  and  another  helped  to  gain 
greater  consideration  for  the  younger 
members  of  the  community.  It  may  even 
be  that  a  more  general  appreciation  of 
the  Gospel  teaching  helped  forward  this 


22        BOOK    OF  THE  CHILD 

result.  Or,  as  some  will  say,  it  may  be 
simply  that  a  wave  of  sentiment  swept 
over  the  country  and  brought  with  it  a 
tenderer  regard  for  little  children.  It 
does  not  much  matter  what  was  the  cause. 
The  fact  remains  that  a  new  interest  was 
awakened,  the  people  of  England  wanted 
to  understand  childhood  better,  and  books 
and  magazine  articles  on  the  subject 
appeared  in  considerable  numbers. 

This  result,  even  though  some  people 
have  thought  the  supply  excessive,  has 
been  of  great  service.  The  future  of  a 
country  largely  depends  upon  the  proper 
upbringing  of  its  children.  This  in  its 
turn  depends  upon  a  proper  knowledge 
of  the  nature  of  childhood.  This  know- 
ledge has  been  stimulated  and  increased 
to  an  unprecedented  degree  by  the  works 
of  the  best  of  the  writers  who  have 
recently  dealt  with  the  subject  of  children. 

To  mention  only  two  or  three.  Which 
of  us  has  not  been  the  wiser  and  the  better 


THE  CHILD'S  ARRIVAL       23 

\  for   the   books  of   Kenneth  Graham,  for 
such    an   inimitable   character  study   as 
the  Rebecca  of  Kate  Douglas 
^  CMd^en'!''^  Wiggin,  and  for  the  marvel- 
lously tender  insight  into  the 
mystery   of   the   mind   of   a  Httle   child 
which  has  been  shown  by  William  Canton 
,     in  the  "  Invisible  Playmate  "  and  "  W.  V. 
her  Book"  ? 

It  may  be  hoped  that  what  is  practically 
a  new  science  may  be  studied  with  even 
greater  diligence  in  the  future,  and  may 
be  given  its  proper  position  as  of 
paramount  importance. 

Up  to  the  present  date  more  time  and 
pains  have  been  expended  and  more 
literature  published  on  the  rearing  and 
training  of  horses  and  dogs  than  of  the 
little  children  upon  whom  the  future 
destiny  of  the  world  depends. 


CHAPTER   II 

THE   CHILD — ITS    MEMORY 

It  is  just  this — the  memory  of  a  child — 

that  makes  it  so  important  to  begin  the 

process  of  training  at  once. 

A  Baby's     fj^^    waxen    tablets    of    a 

Earliest 

Impressions,  baby's  mind  are  very  soft. 
It  is  impossible  to  say  how 
soon  impressions  are  made  upon  them,  or 
how  deep  those  impressions  may  be.  It  is 
not  impossible  that  with  the  very  begin- 
ning of  separate  existence  some  vague 
markings  are  made  upon  these  unsullied 
tablets.  It  is  exceedingly  interesting  to 
try  to  imagine  what  the  very  earliest 
impressions  are  like.  Are  they  first 
produced  by  the  sense  of  sight  or  the 
sense  of  touch  ?  It  has  been  conclusively 
^  proved  that  the  senses  aid  one  another  to 
a  large  extent  in  the  early  stages  of  their 
use.    Bishop  Berkeley  in  an  appendix  to 

24 


THE  CHILD'S  MEMORY        25 

one  of  his  treatises  gives  the  reports  of 

two  cases  of  boys  born  bHnd  with  what  is 

called    congenital    cataract. 

Bishop       Both  cases  were  cured,  one 

Berkeley  on 

Blind  Boys,  at  the  age  of  nine,  the  other 
at  thirteen  or  fourteen. 
Neither  of  these  boys  when  first  able  to 
see  had  the  least  idea  what  he  was  looking 
at.  They  both  thought  that  all  objects 
touched  their  eyes,  and  neither  had  any 
conception  of  the  shape  or  distance  of  an 
object.  They  were  perfectly  familiar 
with  differences  in  shape  and  material  by 
the  process  of  touch,  but  when  they  first 
obtained  sight  the  appearance  of  things 
meant  nothing  to  them  until  they  had 
handled  them. 

But  in  these  cases  the  sense  of  touch 
had  existed  for  years  and  been  greatly 
cultivated.  It  was,  therefore,  natural 
that  the  familiar  sense  should  come  to  the 
aid  of  the  unfamiliar. 

In  newborn  babies  the  circumstances 


26         BOOK   OF  THE  CHILD 

are  altogether  different.    All  senses  alike 
are  novel,  and  it  would  be  of  great  interest, 
if  such  a  thing  were  possible, 
Markin^^.     ^^    determine    whether   the 
earlier  memory  markings  are 
caused  by  the  vision  of  light,  the  sound 
of  voices,  or  the  touch  of  the  hands  that 
first  come  in  contact  with  the  infant  form. 
But  it  seems  altogether  out  of  our  power 
to  determine  this  question  with  any  sort 
of  certainty.    None  of  us  is 
infants"^    able   to  remember   the   im- 
pressions   of   early   infancy, 
and  insufficient  observation  of  the  results 
of  ocular,  aural,  or  other  contact  with 
external  things  on  the  part  of  babies  has 
resulted  in  an  absence  of  data  upon  which 
to  argue.     Mothers,  nurses,  and  maiden 
aunts   are   often   ridiculed  for   declaring 
that  "  baby  "  has  shown  some  astound- 
ingly  precocious  power  of  observation  or 
recognition,  and  no  doubt  these  manifes- 
tations  are  in   a  large  number  of  cases 


THE  CHILD'S   MEMORY        27 

accounted  for  by  a  desire  on  the  part  of 
the  narrator  to  be  able  to  claim  a  special 
^ share  of  the  infantile  affection,  or  a 
special  power  of  imparting  infantile 
accomplishments . 

At  the  same  time  there  is  every  pro- 
bability that  infants  observe  and  think 

more  accurately  than  would 
E«ly  Memory,  ^e  generally  allowed  by  their 

casual  male  acquaintances. 
The  present  writer  can  vouch  for  at  least 
one  case  where  a  permanent  impression 
was  made  upon  the  mind  of  a  very  young 
child,  and  memory  markings  were  in- 
dented which  certainly  lasted  for  several 
years.  The  facts  are  these  :  A  man  who 
shall  be  called  A.  B.  was  invalided  and 
ordered  to  spend  a  winter  at  the  seaside. 
While  there  a  young  married  couple  with 
their  first  baby  shared  his  lodgings.  The 
\  child,  a  boy,  was  just  six  months  old, 
and  for  some  eighteen  weeks  he  was  the 
frequent  companion  of  A.  B.,  especially 


28         BOOK   OF  THE  CHILD 

when  the  weather  prevented  either  from 
going  out.  During  many  an  hour  the 
baby  boy  lay  on  the  cushions  of  a  low 
basket  chair  kicking  and  crowing  with 
delight  while  his  man  friend  talked  or 
sang  to  him,  and  so  a  firm  friendship  grew 
up  between  the  two,  though  its  verbal 
expression  was  entirely  confined  to  the 
elder  of  them. 

When  the  baby  was  ten  months  old  the 
inevitable  parting  came,  and  for  about 
two  years  they  saw  nothing  of  one 
another.  At  last,  however,  it  became 
possible  for  the  child's  mother  to  bring 
him  to  a  house  where  his  old  friend  was 
staying.  During  the  journey  she  said 
to  the  little  chap,  ''  Do  you  know  who  you 
are  going  to  see  ?  You  are  going  to  see 
A.  B.  "  Without  a  moment's  hesitation 
the  boy  said,  "  A.  B.  with  beard  ? " 
showing  that  he  remembered  what  was 
no  doubt  to  him  the  most  striking  item 
in  his  friend's  appearance,  though  at  the 


THE   CHILD'S   MEMORY        29 

time  that  the  memory  mark  was  made  on 
his  mind  he  was  too  young  to  pronounce 
the  word  describing  the  thing  that  made 
the  impression.  But  further  evidence  of 
the  child's  memory  was  forthcoming,  for 
as  soon  as  he  was  set  down  on  arrival  at 
the  front  door  of  the  house  he  ran  straight 
to  A.  B.  with  every  mark  of  affectionate 
joy  at  seeing  him  again. 

Here  is  an  instance  of  infant  memory 
that  is  absolutely  true,  and,  as  the  boy 
was  in  no  way  precocious  or  unnatural, 
it  is  fair  to  assume  that  there  must  be 
plenty  of  cases  where  the  impressions 
made  upon  an  infant's  mind  during  the 
period  when  its  age  is  marked  by  months 
and  not  by  years  are  of  a  far  more  per- 
manent nature  than  is  generally  assumed. 
But  for  most  illustrations  of  children's 

memory  we    are    compelled 
^L^'^Agl.^  to  begin  at  a  later  age.    Few 

people  remember  much  that 
^  happened   before  they  were  three  years 


30         BOOK   OF  THE   CHILD 

old,  but  from  about  that  time  it  is 
common  to  find  a  remarkably  clear 
recollection  of  certain  scattered  events 
or  experiences. 

It  is  a  usual  thing  to  hear  it  said  by 
those  who  have  passed  middle  age,  that 
their  remembrance  of  their  childhood 
grows  clearer  as  time  goes  on.  This  is 
accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  fewer 
impressions  were  made  upon  their  minds 
during  their  earliest  years,  whereas  in 
later  life  the  memory  tablets  get  crowded 
with  all  sorts  and  kinds  of  markings 
which  become  confused  and  partially 
unintelligible  in  a  very  short  time. 

Besides  being  fewer  in  number  it  is 

also    probable  that    in    early    childhood 

the  memory  markings  that 

Emotions  of  endure    are    those    of   such 

Pleasure  experiences  as  caused  strong 
or  Pain,  emotions  of  surprise,  plea- 
sure, or  pain.  One  of  the 
very  earliest  recollections  of  the  writer 


THE   CHILD'S   MEMORY        31 

is  of  attending  a  wedding  when  he  was 
three  years  old.  But  none  of  the  usual 
incidents  impressed  him  at  all.  The 
dresses  of  the  bridesmaids,  the  appearance 
of  the  bride,  the  bouquets,  bells  and  other 
accompaniments  of  a  wedding  have  been 
completely  forgotten.  No  remembrance 
of  any  single  person  or  circumstance 
remains  excepting  two  things  which  struck 
him  with  astonishment.  First  of  all,  he, 
in  common  with  others  attending  the 
service,  was  taken  across  a  wide  river  in 
a  boat,  and,  secondly,  he  was  put  to 
stand  close  against  the  back  of  a  harmo- 
nium, the  noise  of  which  at  such  close 
quarters  was  to  him  extraordinary  and 
rather  disagreeable. 

The  complete  obliteration  of  everything 
connected    with    this    visit 

^eTembered  "^^^    ^he    ceremony    took 

than  Griefs,    place  a  day's  journey  from 

his    home — seems    to  point 

clearly  to  the  fact  that  the  unusual  is  not 


32         BOOK   OF  THE  CHILD 

by  itself  enough  to  permanently  impress 
a  child's  mind,  but  it  must  be  coupled 
with  sensations  of  peculiar  surprise,  or 
special  pleasure  or  pain.  With  regard  to 
the  two  latter  it  is  a  beneficent  provision 
that  the  joys  of  early  life  are  remembered 
long  after  its  sadnesses  have  been 
forgotten. 

A  man  looks  back  on  the  summers  he 

spent  as  a  child  in  a  country  rectory. 

It  appears  to  him  that  the 

Summer  Days  days  were  ever  sunny  :    he 

at  a  Country        -^  *^ 

Rectory.  recaUs  the  sharp  hiss  of  the 
whetstone  on  the  scythe, 
which  told  him  as  he  lay  in  his  Uttle  bed 
that  the  parson's  man  was  mowing  the 
lawn  before  the  dew  was  off  the  grass  ; 
he  can  remember  the  wild  strawberries 
in  the  less  conventional  part  of  the  garden ; 
he  can  in  fancy  take  his  way  to  the  cow- 
house, mug  in  hand,  to  get  a  drink  of  new 
and  frothy  milk ;  he  can  climb  about 
the  lower  branches  of  a  favourite  tree  ;  he 


THE  CHILD'S   MEMORY        33 

can  rake  and  water  his  little  square  of 
garden  ;  he  can  come  home  atop  of  the 
last  load  of  hay  from  the  glebe  fields ;  but 
it  is  always  in  the  dancing  sunlight  that 
he  moves  ;  it  would  seem  to  him  that 
there  could  never  have  been  any  single 
day  in  all  his  childhood  when  rain  came 
down  and  skies  were  grey  and  cold. 

And  so,  too,  of  the  life  indoors.     He 
remembers  much  of  this  in  comparison 
with   the  later  years.      He 
Nurser^y       remembers     exactly    where 
each  piece  of  furniture  stood 
in  the  old  nursery.     He  can  tell  you  with 
what  colour  the  ottoman  was  covered  in 
which  his  brothers'  and  sisters'  outdoor 
things  were  kept,  and  he  vividly  remem- 
bers standing  upon  it  to  look  out  of  the 
window  and  watch  the  gardener  at  work. 
He  can  recall  exactly  how  much  of  the 
spout  was  broken  belonging  to  the  old 
grey   teapot   in   which   was   brewed   the 
senna  tea,  but  he  cannot  tell  you  what 

3— (2319) 


34        BOOK  OF  THE  CHILD 

the  stuff  tasted  of — though  he  is  sure  that 
it  was  nasty.  The  nursery,  the  stairs,  and 
the  passages  are  in  his  memory  so  many 
playgrounds  ;  he  forgets  the  many  child- 
ish tears  that  he  shed,  and  the  childish 
tragedies  that  befell  him,  while  the  games 
and  the  laughter  and  the  pleasantness  of 
his  early  surroundings  are  easily  recalled. 

But  if  he  examines  carefully  into  his 
early  impressions  he  will  find  that  the 
events  which  older  persons  might  be 
expected  to  remember  are  forgotten,  while 
the  little  matters  that  brought  to  his 
babyhood's  experience  sensations  of  pain 
1^  or  pleasure — but  especially  the  latter — are 
clear.  That  is  to  say,  the  memory 
markings  made  in  early  childhood  do  not 
include  the  greater  number  of  things 
which  came  in  contact  with  the  various 
senses  of  the  child,  but  are  really  few  in 
number  and  connected  invariably  with 
special  sensations. 

It  is  a  vast  mistake  to  measure  the 


THE  CHILD'S  MEMORY        35 

importance  of  a  child's  interests  by  those 
of  a  grown-up  person.  It  is  easy  for  the 
latter  to  forget  every  detail  of  a  house 
in  which  he  has  passed  some  months  or 
even  years  of  middle  age,  but  he  will 
remember  a  shallow  step  leading  down 
from  one  of  his  nurseries  to  the  other. 

How  small  a  thing  !  Yes,  but  it  was 
productive  of  great  sensations.  It  was 
the  first  step  he  had  ever  known — by  it 
was  revealed  to  him  the  entirely  new  idea 
that  one  room  could  be  on  a  different 
level  from  another.  Then  he  found  that 
it  was  a  splendid  place  to  sit  upon — just 
the  right  height  for  him — and  a  still 
better  place  upon  which  to  set  up  bricks 
and  toys  in  order  to  knock  them  down 
and  hear  the  crash  of  their  fall.  But,  best 
of  all,  it  was  the  place  where  his  first  deed 
of  daring  was  performed.  There  came 
a  day  when  he  ventured  to  jump  down  ! 
It  was  the  first  time  that  he  had  really 
cared  for  spectators  :  it  was  the  first  time 


36         BOOK   OF  THE   CHILD 

that  he  had  looked  round  for  applause. 
For  all  these  reasons — all  connected  with 
new  sensations  of  pleasure — that  little 
shallow  wooden  step  made  a  deeper 
memory  mark  upon  his  mind  than  many 
subsequent  places  or  events  that  have 
perhaps  helped  to  turn  the  current  of  his 
life.  But,  after  all  is  said,  it  is  impossible 
not  to  feel  that  the  unknown  is  so  largely 
in  excess  of  the  known,  in  this  as  in  many 
other  subjects,  that  the  only  thing  to  be 
done  is  to  try  to  induce  those  who  have 
to  do  with  little  children  to  remember 
that  much  is  possible  and  even  probable — 
to  act,  that  is,  as  if  the  youngest  child  may 
possibly  remember  for  its  good  or  ill  any 
V  smallest  fact  or  object  with  which  its 
senses  are  brought  into  contact. 


CHAPTER   III 

THE    CHILD — ITS   IMAGINATION 

The  imagination  of  the  poet,  of  the 
novelist,  of  the  advertiser  of  a  patent 
^  medicine,  is  as  nothing  compared  with 
that  of  a  Httle  child.  No  one  who  is 
unable  to  realise  this  will  understand 
children  or  be  really  successful  in  their 
upbringing. 

Whence  come  all  the  marvellous  ideas 

that  people  the  brain  of  a  mere  baby  of 

two  or  three  years  ?     Is  it 

The  Riotous  that  it  has  descended  but  a 

Imagination 

of  Children,  step  or  two  down  the  stair- 
case and  still  has  a  mind  to 
some  extent  untrammelled  by  human 
limitations  and  the  hard  dry  facts  of 
earth  ?  Or  is  it  that,  possessed  of  a 
keenly  receptive  power,  it  has  not  learnt 
to  control  or  arrange  the  multitudes  of 

37 


38        BOOK   OF  THE  CHILD 

facts  that  present  themselves  daily  to  its 
senses  ?  This  wonderful  imagination  is 
no  doubt  closely  allied  with  the  early 
powers  of  memory  of  which  mention  has 
been  made,  and  may  also  have  something 
at  least  to  do  with  the  early  propensity  to 
untruthfulness.  Many  a 
Unimaginative  child    has    suffered    at    the 

Parents. 

hands  of  an  unimaginative 
parent  for  words  which  have  been  ruth- 
lessly called  lies  though  they  have  been 
\^  so  strongly  prompted  by  a  vivid  imagina- 
tion that  they  have  seemed  as  true  to  the 
utterer  as  much  that  is  unintelligible  but 
has  to  be  accepted. 

A  moment's  thought  will  show  at  what 

an  early  age  imagination  came  into  play 

with  most  people.     By  far 

Arrangement  ^\^q    crreater    number    have 

of  the  ° 

Numerals,     by  its  aid  clothed    certain 

abstract   ideas    in    definite 

concrete  forms,  and  have  done  this  when 

so  young  that  it  is  impossible  for  them  to 


THE  CHILD'S   IMAGINATION  39 

remember  the  time  when  these  things 
first  took  shape.  For  instance,  most 
people  have  a  definite  arrangement  of  the 
numerals.  A  common  form  for  this  to 
take  is  that  of  the  numbers  one  to  twelve 
appearing  to  run  slightly  upwards  and 
towards  the  right,  those  from  twelve  to 
twenty  taking  a  downward  turn  in  the 
same  direction.  At  the  number  twenty 
a  sharp  turn  is  taken  to  the  left,  and  from 
that  point  to  one  hundred  they  run 
uphill  with  an  increasing  steepness.  Many 
other  directions  and  shapes  are  discovered 
by  questioning  people  on  this  subject,  but 
it  is  very  rare  to  find  an  example  of  the 
numerals  being  nothing  but  an  abstract 
idea.     The  same  thing  occurs  with  the 

months.  To  most  people 
^the  Months'!^  ^^ey    appear    in    a    circle, 

winter  being  in  some  cases 
at  the  top,  and  summer  in  others.  In  one 
case  a  person  imagines  them  in  a  semi- 
circle, and  in  another  (the  strangest  yet 


40         BOOK   OF  THE   CHILD 

met  with)  they  are  in  a  zig-zag,  three 
months  running  up,  and  three  down,  and 
so  on,  the  form  being  Hke  that  of  a  rather 
stragghng  M. 

Colour   also   is   occasionally  imagined, 
and  there  is  no  doubt  that  children  are 

specially   susceptible   to   its 
Colour^      influence  at  a  very  early  age. 

A  writer  in  the  eighteenth 
century  to  whom  allusion  has  been  made 
in  Chapter  I  makes  the  following  obser- 
vation :  "  There  are  some  children  so 
tenderly  organised  that  many  kinds  of 
sounds  are  harsh  to  their  Infant  Ears  and 
apt  to  fright  them,  and  some  colours  strike 
them  with  too  great  and  quick  a  Glare  and 
have  the  same  Effect  till  by  Custom  they 
are  made  familiar  to  their  Organs." 
It  is  certain  at  all  events  that  colour 

has    played    an    important 

the^Days.     P^^^   ^^    ^^^  imagination  of 

many    people     from     their 

earliest  years,  A  lady  declares  that  all  her 


THE  CHILD'S   IMAGINATION  41 

life  long  the  days  of  the  week  have 
V  appeared  to  her  to  be  of  certain  definite 
colours.  Thus,  Sunday  is  brick  red, 
Monday  the  same,  Tuesday  lilac,  Wednes- 
day white,  Thursday  dark  brown,  Friday 
grey,  and  Saturday  mauve  and  yellow. 
All  this  imagining  took  place  so  near  the 
start  of  her  life  that  the  colour,  form,  etc., 
of  the  days  appear  to  this  lady  to  be  facts 
dating  from  the  beginning  of  time  itself. 
It  should  be  noted  that  in  these  and  all 
similar  instances  the  imagination  is  appa- 
rently independent  of  outside  influences 
such  as  pictures  or  descriptions  which 
might  be  supposed  to  have  affected  a 
Httle  child. 

It  is  possible  to  go  further  than  this 
and  to  say  that  the  most  vivid  imaginings 
are  as  a  rule  those  which  a 
^ChSienZ  child     produces    absolutely 
and    apart    from    the    sug- 
gestion of  others.     Under  this  head  comes 
^  the   imaginary    child-friend    called    into 


42         BOOK   OF  THE  CHILD 

existence  in  most  cases  by  one  who  has  no 
playmate  of  similar  age.  The  grown-up 
people  in  the  house  know  nothing  of  this 
imaginary  friend  until  the  real  child  is 
overheard  talking  to  it  and  calling  it  by 
name.  It  is  remarkable  to  notice  how 
nothing  seems  to  disturb  the  common- 
place reality  of  the  whole  thing  in  the 
mind  of  the  child.  When  the  imaginary 
friend  is  in  the  room  his  or  her  presence 
is  never  for  a  moment  forgotten,  and  plans 
are  gravely  made  to  suit  the  convenience 
not  of  one  only  but  of  both  the  children. 

Next  in  importance  to  the  unsuggested 
imaginings  are  those  to  which  a  sensitive 
child  gives  way  on  the  slightest  hint. 
This  is  a  very  practical  matter,  and  one 
to  which  those  who  have  to  do  with 
children  should  take  heed. 

It  is  impossible  to  say  at  how  early  an 
age  a  suggestion  of  any  kind  may  bear 
fruit.  A  lady  once  said  that  her  childhood 
was  one   long   misery  owing  to   a  vivid 


THE  CHILD'S  IMAGINATION  43 

imagination  of  the  terrors  that  awaited 

her  for  having  committed  a  certain  fault 

when  a  baby  in  the  nursery. 

Imaginary 

Terrors.  It  was  not,  she  said,  that 
much  had  been  made  of  it 
at  the  time,  but  there  was  some  suggestion 
of  an  awful  unknown  punishment,  which 
her  childish  brain  worked  upon  and 
developed  until  she  dared  not  be  left  alone 
and  became  a  thoroughly  morbid  and 
wretched  little  being. 

It  is  obvious  that  too  great  care  cannot 
possibly  be  taken  by  those  to  whom 
children  are  entrusted,  inasmuch  as  a 
chance  word  may  set  a  child's  imagination 
working  and  affect  the  tendency  of  its 
thoughts  and  actions  for  years. 

It  was  suggested  at  the  beginning  of 
this  chapter  that  there  is  probably  some 
relation  between  this  power  of  imagination 
and  the  tendency  to  untruthfulness 
which  is  found  in  so  many  children.  It 
is    one    of    the     most    difficult    things 


44         BOOK   OF  THE   CHILD 

possible    to    define    exactly    where    the 
knowledge   of  untruthfulness   comes   in. 

Probably  no  two  children  are 

^"*^"and^^^^^^  alike  in  this,  and  it  requires 

Imagination,   the  utmost  tact  and  a  close 

knowledge  of  a  particular 
child's  character  to  determine  the  point 
where  the  one  thing  ends  and  the  other 
begins. 

Here  is  an  example.  A  short  time  ago 
a  little  boy  still  in  the  nursery  was  taken 
out  by  his  father  in  the  carriage  for  a 
drive.  When  they  arrived  at  the  farther 
end  of  the  town  the  little  chap  was  sent 
home  in  the  carriage  by  himself,  his  father 
having  been  deposited  at  his  place  of 
business.  When  the  carriage  arrived  back 
at  the  door  of  the  house  the  parlourmaid 
came  out  and  carried  the  child  indoors, 
being  surprised  to  find  him  in  tears. 
Struggling  out  of  her  arms  he  set  off 
upstairs  to  the  nursery,  sobbing  bitterly 
all  the  way.       **  What    is    the    matter, 


THE  CHILD'S   IMAGINATION  45 

dear  ?  "  said  the  nurse.  "  I'se  had  to 
walk  by  mine  own  self  all  froo  the  town, 
and  I  was  dreffly  frightened/'  was  the 
reply.  *'  How  ever  did  you  get  across 
the  High  Street,  my  poor  darling  ?  " 
*'  There  was  lots  of  cabs  and  cawwiages 
and  things,  and  I  knewed  I  would  be 
runned  over  !  "  All  this  with  many  sobs 
and  much  burying  of  his  head  in  nurse's 
lap.  Hearing  the  wailing  in  the  nursery 
up  came  the  parlourmaid,  to  whom  the 
nurse  poured  out  her  indignation.  ''  Just 
fancy !  Making  this  poor  lamb  walk 
home  all  through  the  town  by  himself  ! 
It's  a  mercy  he  was  not  killed  again  and 
again  !  "  "  Walk  through  the  town  ! 
Why,  whatever  do  you  mean  ?  Why,  I 
lifted  him  out  of  the  carriage  at  this  very 
door  not  ten  minutes  ago  !  " 

Well,  the  temptation  to  punish  the 
little  fellow  must  have  been  great.  One 
hopes  it  was  resisted.  There  can  be  small 
doubt    that    a    vivid    imagination    had 


46        BOOK  OF  THE  CHILD 

mastered  him  as  he  drove  home  alone. 
It  was  all  *'  what  might  have  been,"  and 
it  became  so  real  to  him  that  it  seemed 
to  be  '*  what  was." 

Again,  a  case  recurs  to  the  recollection 

of  the  writer  where  a  small  child  was 

summoned  into  the  presence 

Confession  Qf  ^^  angry  parent  who 
Imaginary  Sin.  listened  to  no  excuses,  but 
insisted  so  strongly  and  so 
often  on  the  guilt  of  the  small  boy,  that 
at  last  he  actually  seemed  convinced  by 
the  reiterated  accusation  and,  imagining 
\^  that  his  parent  must  know  best,  actually 
confessed  to  a  sin  which  subsequent  events 
proved  the  impossibility  of  his  having 
committed. 

Now  for  an  example  where  it  is  probable 
that  the  imagination  of  the  child  is  used 
for  ulterior  purposes  and  the  borderland 
between  fancy  and  untruthfulness  is 
likely  to  be  crossed. 

There  is  a  little  girl  who  a  few  years 


THE  CHILD'S   IMAGINATION  47 

ago  was  possessed  of  many  dolls,  but  the 
supreme  favourite  was  an  old  monkey- 
doll  by  name  *' Jinks."  He 
Jinks.  was  so  much  hugged  and 
cuddled  from  the  first  that 
he  soon  became  shabby.  He  quickly  lost 
all  his  hair  except  a  tuft  on  each  side  of 
his  face,  and  his  clothes  were  reduced  to 
a  pair  of  dark  blue  trousers  and  a  sort  of 
shabby  white  jersey.  But  the  shabbier 
he  became  the  more  she  loved  him,  and 
in  time,  being  an  ingenious  little  person, 
she  began  to  make  use  of  him,  as  is  often 
the  case  among  grown-up  people.  The 
first  instance  on  record  is  of  the  simplest 
kind,  but  showed  much  insight  into  human 
nature.  The  little  girl  had  been  dis- 
obedient and  was  being  duly  lectured  on 
her  fault.  She  stood  there  looking  very 
serious  with  "  Jinks "  tightly  clasped 
in  her  arms.  All  of  a  sudden  the  length 
of  the  lecture  became  more  than  she 
could  bear.    Something  must   be  done. 


48         BOOK  OF  THE  CHILD 

Suddenly  she  held  up  the  ugly  old  doll  and 
with  a  pleasant  smile  upon  her  face 
remarked,  '*  Look  at  Jinks !  'ow  'e's 
laughing !  "  It  was  an  ingenious  and 
effective  ruse,  but  a  ruse  it  w^as  and  not 
mere  play  of  imagination. 

On  another  more  recent  occasion  she 
made  use  of  "  Jinks  "  in  a  rather  more 
elaborate  fashion.  Her  everyday  gloves 
were  knitted  woollen  ones  and  these  she 
disliked  intensely.  One  day  she  was  seen 
starting  out  in  a  pair  which  were  properly 
kept  for  Sundays.  She  was  stopped  and 
asked  why  she  had  put  on  her  best  gloves. 
"  Why,"  she  answered  at  once,  "  You  see 
when  I  was  getting  ready  I  thought 
p'raps  I  should  meet  Jinks  on  the  stairs — 
and  he  can't  bear  to  see  me  in  those  woolly 
gloves  !  " 

Most  people  who  have  little  children 
among  their  friends  can  remember  similar 
instances,  and  these  are  just  the  cases 
where  firm  but  sympathetic  interference 


THE  CHILD'S   IMAGINATION   49 

is  necessary  to  prevent  confusion  between 
imagination  and  want  of  truth. 

Possessed  as   they  are  of  such  great 
powers  of  imagination  in  many  directions 

it  is  curious  to  notice  how 
o"f^Dea«f.     ^i^^^   children  seem  unable 

to  realise  or  picture  to  them- 
selves matters  with  which  they  will  be 
familiar  enough  in  after  life.  Take,  for 
instance,  the  subject  of  death.  A  child 
will  imagine  the  death  of  a  doll.  This  is 
a  fancy  that  occurs  rarely,  and  the  imagi- 
nation goes  as  a  rule  no  further.  A  child 
does  not  picture  to  itself  the  sorrow  and 
loss  commonly  caused  by  the  death  of  a 
real  person.  A  little  girl  of  three  years 
old  was  sitting  on  her  godfather's  knee. 
There  was  an  immense  affection  between 
the  two,  and  either  would  have  missed  the 
other  sadly.  An  old  man  in  the  village 
known  by  sight  to  the  little  girl  had  lately 
died,  and  she  had  just  remarked  to  her 

godfather  quite  as  a  bit  of  cheerful  gossip, 
4— (2319) 


50         BOOK   OF  THE    CHILD 

"  Old  John  is  dead."  The  conversation 
then  turned  upon  a  certain  gold  watch 
which  the  little  maiden  desired  more  than 
anything  in  the  world.  Once  more  she 
was  told,  ''  No,  I  really  can't  give  it  to 
you  ;  I  want  it  so  badly  myself."  Then 
followed  these  apparently  callous  words. 
"  Your  hair  is  rather  white 

ategacy'  l^^e  old  John's.  I  s'pect  you 
will  be  dead  soon.  Then  can 
I  have  the  watch  ?  " 

At  first  sight  this  sounds  heartless  and 
calculating,  but  as  a  matter  of  fact  it  was 
certainly  not  the  former.  The  subject  of 
death  was  too  big  for  her  imagination, 
that  was  all. 

In  this  same  connection  it  is  found  that 

pain   as   affecting   others   is   often   very 

slightly  realised  by  children, 

Small        a^j^^j  ^j^gy  seem  to  be  unable 

Imagination  -^ 

of  Suffering,   to  imagine  suffering  such  as 

has  not  come  within  their  own 

experience.   It  is  for  this  reason  that  little 


THE  CHILD'S   IMAGINATION  51 

children  often  inflict  tortures  on  animals, 
especially  on  flies  and  other  small  crea- 
tures which  are  at  their  mercy.  It  is  not 
from  a  love  of  cruelty  as  some  people  have 
\  said,  but  simply  because  their  imagination 
falls  short  in  this  direction,  and  they  do 
not  realise  the  effects  of  their  actions. 

But,  with  certain  exceptions,  a  child 
has  invariably  an  immense  capability  for 
imagining.  As  has  been  stated,  the  most 
vivid  fancies  seem  to  spring  up  unbidden, 
but  it  is  equally  true  that  it  is  possible 
in  a  large  degree  to  influence  the  kind  of 
imagination.  Happiness  is  an  essential 
\  atmosphere  for  the  upbringing  of  a  child, 
^  and  happiness  is  to  a  large  extent  depend- 
ent in  childhood  upon  imagination.  By 
supplying  this  atmosphere  the  best  kind 
of  imaginings  can  be  ensured. 

A  child   whose    parents    are  occupied 

entirely  with  themselves  and  their  own 

. ;    affairs    and    have    no     sympathy    with 

childish  fancies  will  shrink  up  into  itself 


52        BOOK  OF  THE  CHILD 

and  have  a  stunted  mental  and  spiritual 

growth  :    the  terrified  child  will  grow  up 

amid    horrible    imaginings ; 
Parental  .       ,        ,  .,  _  . 

Sympathy,     it  IS  Only  the  child  to  whom 

gentleness  and  sympathy 
are  as  the  very  air  it  breathes  who  will 
imagine  happy  and  beautiful  things,  and 
live  to  enjoy  the  fulfilment  of  them  here 
and  hereafter.   - 

This    leads    naturally    to    the    poetic 
imaginings  of  many  children  who  have 

outgrown    their    babyhood, 
imrgTnlngs.    ^ut  have  not  yet  had  their 

fancies  blurred  and  obscured 
by  the  tasks  and  troubles  of  the  world. 
They  possess  a  gift  which  all  may  envy — 
the  gift  of  endowing  all  manner  of  things, 
both  those  which  are  beautiful  in  them- 
\  selves  and  those  which  are  not,  with  a 
glory  not  their  own.  This  gift  comes 
from  the  power  of  connecting  one  thought 
with  another,  or  perhaps  of  allowing  one 
idea  unconsciously  to  suggest    another, 


THE  CHILD'S   IMAGINATION  53 

which  is  the  root  of  all  imagination.  It 
is  a  gift  that  has  brought  sunshine  and 
happiness  to  thousands  of  children,  and 
is  preserved  by  some  in  after  life.  All  our 
great  poets  and  painters  have  kept  hold  of 
this  power,  and  many  persons  share 
vicariously  in  its  dehghts  as  they  read 
the  glorious  thoughts  or  gaze  on  the 
exquisite  pictures  that  have  been  thus 
inspired. 

And  yet  there  are  some  who  scoff. 
They  have  forgotten  their  childhood's 
gift,  and  are  too  self-satisfied  to  regret  it. 
Not  so  the  old  poet  Wordsworth.  He  felt 
the  power  leaving  him.  The  brightness 
of  his  poetic  imagination  was  on  the  wane, 
and  he  thus  lamented  it : — 

There  was  a  time  when  meadow,  grove  and  stream* 
The  earth  and  every  common  sight, 

To  me  did  seem 
Apparell'd  in  celestial  light. 
The  glory  and  the  freshness  of  a  dream. 
It  is  not  now  as  it  hath  been  of  yore  ; 

Turn  wheresoe'er  I  may 

By  night  or  day, 
Tht  things  which  I  hav«  seen  I  now  can  see  no 
more. 


54         BOOK  OF  THE  CHILD 

There  are  many  people  who  have  never 
troubled  to  understand  children  and  who 
are  mightily  sceptical  as  to  the  powers 
and  the  charm  that  is  claimed  for  them. 
It  is  hardly  possible  to  do  better  here 
than  to  ask  such  persons  to  read  the 
example  given  below  of  a  child's  poetical 
imaginings. 

The  story  is  told  in  the  first  person,  and 
is  in  the  main  literally  true.  It  is  called 
"  I  Wonders  " 

"  It  was  a  lovely  September  day.  I 
had  any  number  of  duties  to  fulfil  at  home. 
There  was  a  pile  of  letters 
"  I  Wonders  "  waiting  to  be  answered,  there 
was  a  magazine  article 
hardly  begun  for  which  I  had  received 
an  urgent  demand  from  the  publishers 
only  that  morning,  and  there  was  a  meet- 
ing of  school  managers  which  my  con- 
science told  me  I  ought  on  no  account  to 
miss.  But,  as  I  said  before,  it  was  a 
simply  lovely  day  and  nature   (human 


THE  CHILD'S   IMAGINATION  55 

and  the  other)  cried  shame  on  staying 
indoors.  Whether  I  should  have  had 
sufficient  strength  of  mind  to  have 
resisted  the  temptation  had  I  been  left 
to  fight  it  out  with  nature  I  shall  never 
know,  for  the  enemy  received  a  sudden 
reinforcement  before  which  I  yielded 
ignominiously  and  at  once.  I  had  gone 
so  far  as  to  clear  my  blotting-pad  of  loose 
letters  and  to  open  my  ink  bottle  when 
there  came  a  tiny  tap  at  the  study  door. 
'  Come  in  !  '  I  called,  and  there  ensued 
a  curious  twisting  at  the  handle  of  the 
door,  productive  of  no  result.  '  Come 
in  ! '  I  called  again,  and  this  time  there 
was  no  further  delay. 

*'With  a  little  burst  the  door  flew 
open  and  revealed  that  my  visitor  was 
no  less  and  no  greater  a  person  than 
Helen. 

*'  Now  Helen  needs  some  description, 
and  no  better  time  for  giving  it  could  be 
found  than  as  she  stood  there  at  the  top 


56         BOOK  OF  THE  CHILD 

of  the  three  or    four  steps   which  lead 
up   to    my    sanctum,   her    face    flushed 
with  her  struggle  with   the 
Helen,      door  handle. 

"  Helen  was  a  town-bred 
child  of  five  years  old,  and  the  colour  gave 
her  usually  pale  face  an  added  charm. 
.  Charm  is  the  right  word  to  use,  for,  though 
she  did  not  possess  any  very  great  beauty 
(excepting  her  large  dark  eyes  and  lashes), 
it  was  impossible  not  to  fall  under  her 
charm.  She  fascinated  by  her  various 
moods,  often  serious  almost  to  melan- 
choly, but  suddenly  bursting  out  into 
utter  and  abandoned  joyousness.  She 
fascinated  again  by  her  vivid  imagination, 
by  the  sensitiveness  with  which  she  shrank 
from  an  unresponsive  look  or  word,  and 
by  the  gradual  unfolding  of  her  nature  to 
anyone  who  understood.  She  had  come  to 
stay  with  us  in  our  completely  country 
house,  and  was  entranced  with  the  mystery 
and  delight  of  all  she  saw. 


THE  CHILD'S   IMAGINATION  57 

"On  that  particular  morning  she  had 
come  to  demand  that  I  should  fulfil  a 
promise  to  go  out  and  pick  blackberries, 
for  had  not  I  said  that  I  had  passed 
quantities  of  big  ones,  all  ripe  and  ready, 
only  the  day  before  ?  There  she  stood  in 
her  white  sun  bonnet  and  her  short  red 
flannel  jacket,  beneath  which  came  the 
bottom  of  her  white  frock  and  a  little  pair 
of  legs  which  country  sun  and  air  were 
already  beginning  to  assimilate  to  those 
of  our  village  bairns  in  colour  though  not 
in  thickness. 

**  '  Well  ?  '  I  said,  to  which  her  only 
reply  was  to  hold  up  and  shake  at  me  an 
empty  basket  with  which  she  had  provided 
herself.  '  What's  that  for  ? '  said  I. 
'  I  wonders ! '  she  answered,  using  an 
expression  with  which  we  had  already 
become  famihar.  '  Well,'  I  said,  *  you 
had  better  tell  me.'  '  Can't  you 
guess  ?  ' — with  some  scorn — and  then 
triumphantly,   '  Backberwies,  o'  course  !  ' 


58         BOOK  OF  THE  CHILD 

"  There  was  very  little  more  to  be  said. 
Nature  might  have  been  resisted  alone, 
but  nature  and  Helen  would  have  proved 
too  much  for  a  stronger  and  more  reluc- 
tant man  than  I.  And  so  it  was  arranged. 
Helen  was  to  meet  me  in  the  hall  in  a 
quarter  of  an  hour,  which  would  give  me 
time  to  scribble  a  couple  of  notes,  one 
(by  the  way)  to  the  publishers  to  say 
that  great  pressure  prevented  my  finishing 
he  article  that  day,  which  was  true — in 
a  sense  ! 

*'  I  have  been  many  walks  with  many 
people,  but  none  that  I  can  compare  with 
the  one  upon  which  Helen  and  I  started 
that  sunny  September  morning.  I  have 
walked  as  an  undergraduate  with  learned 
dons  who  discoursed  of  matters  beyond 
my  ken.  I  have  walked  with  ladies  of 
sentiment,  who  vainly  appealed  to  my 
sympathy  and  imagination.  But  never 
till  that  morning  did  I  walk  with  a 
companion  who  carried  me  with  her  into 


THE  CHILD'S   IMAGINATION  59 

another  world  and  who  obtained  complete 
sway  over  my  every  thought  and  action. 
This  did  not  begin  all  at  once. 

*'  There  was  a  little  bit  of  the  village 
through  which  we  must  pass,  and  here 
there  were  sundry  dangers. 
^%mlge.^^^  Old  Sawyer's  black  and  white 
sow  had  got  loose  and  cer- 
tainly looked  formidably  large  and  fierce 
as  she  shoved  her  snout  with  deep  grunts 
into  the  ditch  beside  the  road.  Then  a 
farmer's  collie-dog — a  particular  friend  of 
mine,  but  a  stranger  and  therefore  a 
possible  foe  to  my  companion — came 
prancing  up.  These  and  other  sources 
of  terror,  such  as  the  village  flock  of 
geese,  made  it  essential  that  we  should 
proceed  with  caution  and  with  such 
strength  as  a  union  of  hands  might  afford. 
However,  it  did  not  take  long  to  bring 
us  to  the  end  of  the  cottages  and  out  on 
to  the  road  beside  which  I  had  seen  the 
blackberries    hanging    all    ready   to     be 


60        BOOK   OF  THE  CHILD 

picked.     It  was  a  good  wide  road  with  a 

broad  strip  of  grass  on  either  side,  along 

one  of  which  was  a  row  of  telegraph  posts 

which  brought  the  single  wire  by  which 

we  were  connected  with  the  busy  world. 

The  hedges  were  high  and  bushy — full  of 

honeysuckle,  now  out  of  bloom,  wild  roses 

by  this  time  showing  only  their  scarlet 

fruit,    wild    hops    climbing    everywhere 

with  rapid  eager  growth,  clematis  giving 

promise  of  a  hoary  show  of  old  man's 

beard,    and   in   and   out   and   over   and 

through  it  all  the  long  thorny  brambles 

with  their  many-coloured  leaves  and  their 

shiny  black  and  red  and  green  berries. 

'*  With  just  one  look  round  to  assure 

herself    that   nobody    and   nothing   was 

about,  Helen  let  go  my  hand 

-,    7?^         and  rushed  off  like  a  mad 
Backberwy 

People.       thing  along  the  grass,  just 

recovering    herself    with    a 

gasp  from  a  bad  stumble  over  a  dried  and 

hidden  heap  of  road  scrapings.     All  of  a 


THE   CHILD'S   IMAGINATION  61 

sudden  she  stopped.  She  had  caught . 
sight  of  the  '  backberwies  '  and  of  the 
numberless  other  briUiant  and  tempting 
objects  in  the  hedge.  In  a  moment 
her  imagination  had  caught  fire.  '  I 
wonders  !  '  she  said  as  I  came  up.  Then, 
when  her  breath  was  quite  recovered,  she 
added  very  earnestly,  '  Can  us  get  them 
backberwy  people  ?  It's  vewy  dangewous,  "^ 
isn't  it  ?  Look  at  them  nettles  and 
fistles  !  Is  them  the  backberwies' 
policemen — I  wonders  ?  ' 

'*  If  they  were,  they  proved  very  useful 
as  far  as  warding  off  attacks  on  the  part 
of  a  little  bare-legged  maiden  went. 
However,  by  dint  of  very  careful  steering 
she  managed  to  get  close  up  to  a  splendid 
cluster  of  fruit  and  had  picked  some  four 
or  five  when  one  of  the  sharp  hooky 
thorns  tore  her  finger  and  brought  tears 
into  her  eyes.  Even  so,  the  play  went  on. 
'  Oh  !  the  backberwies'  dog  has  bit  me  !  '  "^ 
she  cried,  as  she  held  up  the  poor  little 


62        BOOK  OF  THE  CHILD 

finger  for  me  to  see.  It  was  really  a  nasty 
prick,  and  I  could  see  that  it  hurt  her  a 
good  deal,  so  I  tied  her  handkerchief 
round  it,  and  said  we  would  try  to  find 
a  place  further  on  where  the  dogs  were 
not  so  savage. 

*'  We  went  on  a  yard  or  two  and  passed 

close  to  one  of  the  telegraph  posts  through 

which    a   light    breeze    was 

The         humming.      Helen   stopped 

Backbefwy 

Ball.  short  with  eyes  dilated  and 
open  mouth.  '  Oh !  I 
wonders  !  '  she  cried.  '  What  is  it  ? '  I 
asked  her.  She  whispered  to  me  to  keep 
quite  still  while  she  went  to  see,  and 
proceeded  to  put  her  ear  against  the  post, 
holding  up  one  finger  of  the  injured  hand 
in  warning  to  me  not  to  stir.  *  There's 
beautiful  music,'  she  said  at  last  very 
softly,  '  there's  a  ball,  and  all  the  little 
backberwies  is  dancing  !  '  I  said  that  if 
the  old  blackberries  let  the  young  ones 
go  to  a  ball  without  them  it  served  them 


THE  CHILD'S  IMAGINATION  63 

right  if  they  got  picked  themselves.  I 
then  suggested  that  we  should  go  on  to 
the  next  post  and  see  what  was  going  on 
there.  As  we  went  Helen  noticed  that 
near  each  one  there  was  a  heap  of  stones 
and  a  bare  gravelly  patch  of  ground. 
'  Them  is  the  backberwy  houses,'  she  said,  "^ 
*  and  all  the  backberwies  are  out,  and  the  ^ 
children  are  gone  to  a  dancing  class,  so 
the  old  backberwies  send  them  by  their- 
selves.'  So  the  little  difficulty  which  I 
had  mentioned  was  explained  away, 
though  to  the  vividness  of  her  imagination 
it  had  evidently  presented  a  real  difficulty 
and  had  not  been  forgotten. 

"  Presently,  after  listening  to  the  music 
in  several  telegraph  posts,  saying  that 
there  was  an  organ  in  one  and  fiddles  in  ^ 
another,  while  in  a  third  she  declared 
that  the  blackberries  were  singing,  she  ^ 
returned  to  the  hedge  and  the  more 
serious  duty  of  filling  her  little  basket. 
All  the  time,  however,  she  kept  up  a 


64         BOOK  OF  THE  CHILD 

comment  upon  what  she  saw.  The  red 
hips  and  haws  were  *  the  backberwies' 
soldiers,'  the  elderberries  were  their 
clergymen,  and  the  sloes  were  guards. 
Every  few  minutes  she  stopped  in  a  sort 
of  ecstasy  at  all  that  was  around  her,  and 
gazing  in  one  direction  and  another 
would  softly  say,  '  Oh  !  I  wonders  !  ' 
It  was  evidently  a  revelation  of  beauty  to 
her,  and  at  the  same  time  a  scene  of  mys- 
tery, a  sort  of  fairyland  where  everything 
thought  and  hved  and  breathed. 

**  At  last  the  basket  was  getting  nearly 

full,    and    in    stretching    up    for    some 

specially  fine  berries  a  dog- 

^^Sddkrs^^"^   rose  thorn  tore  the  back  of 

my    hand,    leaving    a    long 

scratch.    Helen's  anger  knew  no  bounds. 

'*  'The  wicked,  wicked  soldiers,'  she  said, 

and  then  taking  several  of  the  bright  red 

hips  she  tore  them  into  fragments  and 

threw   them   away.     And   now   we   had 

wandered  backwards  and  forwards  along 


THE  CHILD'S   IMAGINATION  65 

that  special  bit  of  hedge  until  all  the 
blackberries  within  reach  were  picked, 
and  only  the  baby  green  ones  were  left. 
'  Will  they  die  if  we  leaves  them  all 
alone  ?  '  she  said,  and  then  she  gathered 
as  many  as  possible,  and  carr)HLng  them 
in  her  two  hands  placed  them  in  little 
heaps  near  each  telegraph  post  that  they 
might  be  noticed  when  the  balls  and 
concerts  were  over. 

"  I  said  that  I  wondered  what  the  yomig 
blackberries  would  do  when  they  came 
out  and  found  all  their  fathers  and 
mothers  gone,  and  only  the  little  babies 
left.     And  Helen  said  *  I  wonders.'  " 


5-  i^if) 


CHAPTER   IV 

THE  CHILD — ITS   RELIGION 

Probably  one  of  the  earliest  perplexities 
that  presents  itself  to  a  parent  is  the 

question  of  the  child's  reh- 
^o^'paS'  gi^^-   And  yet  it  is  doubtful 

whether  in  the  generality  of 
cases  the  matter  is  considered  early 
enough.  There  are,  evidently,  three  kinds 
of  parents  taking  three  separate  views  of 
the  question.  There  are  those  who  hold 
distinctly  materialistic  opinions,  and  who 
therefore  deliberately  decline  to  enter 
into  the  subject  at  all.     They  agree  with 

the  sentiments  expressed  in 

French  Work  a  French  work  on  children 

on  Children.         i  t  i     j  i  r 

published  some  quarter  of  a 

century  ago  in  which  the  following  pas- 
sages occur  :  *'  We  may  boldly  assert 
that  the  sense  of  religion  exists  no  more 
in  the  intelligence  of   a  little  child  than 

66 


THE  CHILD'S  RELIGION       67 

does  the  supernatural  in  nature.*'  And 
again  :  "In  our  opinion  parents  are  very 
much  mistaken  in  thinking  it  their  duty 
to  instruct  their  Uttle  ones  in  such  things, 
which  have  no  real  interest  for  them — 
as  who  made  them,  who  created  the  world, 
what  is  the  soul,  what  is  its  present  and 
future  destiny,  and  so  forth." 

It  is  a  happiness  to  believe  that  few 
EngUsh  parents  endorse  these  views.  The 
extraordinary  stir  made  by  an  Education 
Bill,  the  chief  concern  of  wliich  was  to 
affect  the  religious  teaching  of  children, 
is  evidence  of  a  widespread  belief  in  the 
necessity  of  such  teaching. 

But,  in  the  second  place,  there  are  some 

parents  who  are  simply  careless.    They 

would  be  rather  shocked  at 

Parents!       ^^^^g  ^^^^  ^^^^  ^^^y  ^^^^" 
selves  were  irreligious,  but, 

when  they  forget  all  about  their  children's 

religion,  it  cannot  be  supposed  that  their 

own  is  of  much  real  concern  to  them. 


68        BOOK  OF  THE  CHILD 

Thirdly,    there   are   the   parents   who 
desire    beyond     all    things    that    their 
children  shall  lead  reUgious 
pints'      lives,  and  are  anxious  to  do 
their   utmost    to   start    the 
little  feet  on  the  right  path.     It  is  this 
class  of  parent  who  is  often  perplexed 
to  know  what  is  best.    The  difficulties 
are  certainly  great.     Children   diifer  so 
widely  that  what  is  good  for  one  child 
may   be   harmful   for   another.     But   in 
almost  all  cases  the  tendency  is  to  put  off 
religious  teaching  too  long.     The  mind 
of  a  very  young  child — one  who  would  be 
commonly    described    as    a 
Early        baby — has  been  proved  again 
^TgooT'    ^nd  again  to  be  remarkably 
and  Evil,     receptive  of  evil  as  well  as 
of  good  influences  and  im- 
pressions, and  the  earher  a  baby's  mind 
can    be    filled    with    the    very    simplest 
religious  truths  the  less  room  there  will  be 
for  evil,  and  the  greater  the  likelihood  of 


THE  CHILD'S  RELIGION       69 

a  firm  belief  in  truths  that  have  been 
absorbed  almost  with  the  mother's  milk. 

This  leads  to  the  question  of  how  far 
a  very  young  child  has  any  direct  personal 
religion  ;  any  feeling,  that  is,  of  a  direct 
communication  even  of  the  most  element- 
ary kind  between  itself  and  its  God 
without  the  intervention  of  any  human 
being. 

It  would  probably  be  true  to  say  that 

at  first  this  is  impossible,  but  that  at  a 

very  early  age  the  sense  can 

A  Child's     be  imparted.    To  quote  the 

Personal      words  of  a  mother  who  has 

Religion,      brought    up    a    number    of 

children  in  the  fear  and  love 

of  God,  personal  religion  in  children  "  of 

course  begins  by  being  mixed  up  with 

Mother,  who,  if  she  is  a  real  mother,  is  to 

her  babies  the  representative  of  warmth, 

comfort,  love,  and  everything  that  they 

want."     When,  in  addition  to  this  a  child 

has    depended     for    months    upon     its 


70         BOOK  OF  THE  CHILD 

mother    for    food,   and    has    constantly 

slept  in  her  arms,  the  influence  of  that 

mother    is     so     great    that 

Religion      her    religion    natur#ly    be- 
through  the  4.U  V   •  X    xu 
Mother.       comes    the   religion   of    the 

child,    who    accepts    every 

word    she    says    absolutely.     Thus,   the 

"  God    bless    you "    and    the    words    of 

loving  prayer  which  come  so  often  and 

so    naturally    to    a    mother's    lips    are 

absorbed  by  the  child  until  its  faith  in 

some    unconscious    way  grows    into    its 

life  and  becomes  a  real  thing  between 

itself  and  its  God. 

Thus,  it  will  be  seen  that  there  is  a 

certain    truth    underlying    a    statement 

made  by  the  French  author  quoted  above 

when  he  says  :   "  Children's  reverence  and 

love  attaches  itself  to  the  human  beings 

who  are  kind  to  them,  but  to  nothing 

which  is  invisible  or  distinct  from  their 

species.     Their    instinct    of    finality    is 

wholly  objective  and  utilitarian."     It  is 


THE  CHILD'S   RELIGION       71 

true  that  in  the  first  instance  a  baby's 
reverence  and  love  attaches  itself  to  the 
mother,  but  to  assert  that  afterwards  it 
rejects  anything  invisible  or  apart  from 
its  own  species  is  to  deny  the  influence 
of  a  religious  feeling  flowing  through  the 
mother  to  the  child,  and  to  limit  the  power 
of  the  Spirit  of  God  who  can  surely  dwell 
in  the  heart  of  a  very  little  child. 

An  example  of  the  way  in  which  children 
of  very  tender  years  can  and  often  do 
grasp  the  great  truths  of  the  religion 
which  they  inherit  from  their  parents 
has  lately  been  told  to  the  writer  by  the 
mother  of  the  child  in  question. 

She  was  a  little  girl  of  three  and  a  half 

years  old,  and  was  taken  one  day  by  her 

father    into    the  church    in 
Where  She 

was         which  she  had  been  baptized. 

Pointing  to  the  font,  he  said, 

*'  Do  you  know  what  happened  to  you 

there  ?  "     For  a  moment  the  child  looked 

perplexed,  and  nestling  up  to  her  father 


72        BOOK  OF  THE  CHILD 

said,  ''You  tell  me,  daddy."  "  No,''  he 
replied,  "  I  want  you  to  tell  me."  There 
was  another  moment's  hesitation,  and 
then  she  looked  up  at  him  and  very 
solemnly  said,  "  I  was  heavened  there  !  " 

Probably  no  answer  that  she  could 
have  made  would  have  been  so  compre- 
hensive and  so  convincing  of  the  real 
grasp  of  the  truth  as  this  word  her  baby 
intelligence  had  coined. 

Examples  can  easily  be  found  to  show 
at  how  early  an  age  a  child  may  be 
influenced  for  good  or  evil.  "  I  have 
seen,"  says  a  parent,  "  a  baby  trained  to 
habits  of  cleanliness  in  six  weeks  of  life," 
and  it  is  doubtless  true  that  the  difference 
between  good  and  evil  first  of  all  means 
to  a  child  what  is  allowed  or  what  is 
forbidden.  But  together  with  this  it 
must  always  be  remembered  that  there 
is  the  sense  of  safety  and  of  love  which, 
originally  connected  with  "  Mother,"  is 
(in  the  case  of  a  religious  parent)  speedily 


THE  CHILD'S   RELIGION       73 

carried  onwards  and  upwards  to  the  love 
and  care  of  God. 

In  this  connection  a  passage  in  Olive 

Schreiner's  "  Story  of  an  African  Farm  " 

can  hardly  be  omitted.     It 

Sch?dner.      ^'^^^    ^^^^  :     "  The    SOuls    of 

little  children  are  marvel- 
lously delicate  and  tender  things,  and  keep 
for  ever  the  shadow  that  first  falls  on  them, 
and  that  is  the  mother's,  or,  at  best,  a 
woman's.  There  never  was  a  great  man 
who  had  not  a  great  mother  :  it  is  hardly 
an  exaggeration.  The  first  six  years  of 
/  our  life  make  us  :  all  that  is  added  later 
is  veneer.  And  yet  some  say,  if  a  woman 
can  cook  a  dinner  or  dress  herself  well,  she 
has  culture  enough." 

All  that  has  been  so  far  written  in  this 
chapter  on  Children's  Religion  is  of 
necessity  vague  and  rather  difficult..  To 
arrive  at  facts  is  almost  impossible.  The 
best  that  can  be  done  is  to  speak  of 
probabihties  in   the  light   of  that  faith 


74        BOOK  OF  THE  CHILD 

which  has  been  handed  down.  The 
rehgion  of  children  of  less  tender  years 
presents  fewer  difficulties,  and  to  the 
consideration  of  this  it  is  proposed  now 
to  turn. 

But  while  the  difficulties  are  fewer,  they 
do  not  altogether  disappear.  It  is  often, 
for  instance,  extraordinarily  difficult  to 
determine  in  the  case  of  a  child  of  six  or 
seven  years  how  far  his  or  her  religion 
has  even  at  that  age  become  directly 
personal,  or  whether  God  is  not  often  a 
Being  to  whom  access  is  only  possible 
through  someone  else. 

The  evidence  obtainable  on  this  point 

is  most  contradictory.     A  mother  writes, 

''  Children's   faith  soon   be- 

Religion  of    comes  a  real  thing  between 

Rather  Older  ^ 

Children,      them   and   their   God.     My 

little  boy  of  five  is  perfectly 

delightful   in    the   fulness    of   his    faith. 

Only  to-night  when  I  had  gone  up,  as  I 

always  do,  to  tell  him  a  Bible  story  or  sing 


THE  CHILD'S   RELIGION       75 

some  hymns  before  he  went  off  to  sleep, 
he   suddenly   said,    *  Mother,    don't   you 

wish    Jesus    was    on    earth 
^F^^th^''     now  ? '  When  I  said,  '  Why 

do  you  wish  it  ? '  he  answered 
without  the  least  hesitation,  'Because 
I  should  go  to  Him  and  ask  Him  to 
make  me  good  for  always.'  And  then, 
a  little  time  afterwards,  he  suddenly 
started  up,  when  I  thought  he  was  asleep, 
and  said,  '  Oh  !  mother,  wouldn't  it  be 
dreadful  if  we  had  not  got  a  God  ! '  " 

Another  mother  tells  of  a  little  daughter 
who  has  been  **  a  doubting  Thomas  from 

her  babyhood,"    To  her  the 
^Thomas?^   personaHty  of  God  was  very 

real,  but  she  refused  to 
accept  anything  at  first  through  the 
medium  of  another — even  of  her  mother. 
A  good  many  of  her  quaint  sayings  have 
been  preserved — and  her  mother  still 
remembers  how  disconcerting  these  often 
were  in  the  course  of  a  Bible  lesson.    She 


76        BOOK  OF  THE  CHILD 

would  suddenly  break  in  with  "  Why  was 
God  so  cruel  ?  I  hate  Him.  Can't  you 
explain  ?  I  don't  think  much  of  Him 
if  He  doesn't  let  fathers  and  mothers  know 
everything  !  "  At  the  same  time  she  was 
seldom  wiUing  to  accept  much  on  anyone's 
judgment  but  her  own.  A  httle  brother 
shared  her  lessons,  and  often  sighed  with 
impatience  at  her  interruptions.     *'  Oh, 

R ,"  he  would  say,  "  I  do  wish  you 

could  get  some  trust !  "  When  learning 
the  Catechism  this  little  girl  refused  to 
say,  "  Yes,  verily,  so  I  wiU."  "  No,"  she 
said,  "  I  shan't  say  that.  I  haven't  made 
up  my  mind  whether  I  want  to  be  good 
or  not,  and  I  certainly  shan't  say  that." 
So  for  about  six  months  that  question 
was  never  put  to  her,  and  at  last  one  day 
she  remarked,  *'  I  could  say  that  now  if 
you   like  !  " 

In  both  these  instances  there  can  be 
little  doubt  that  no  one  came  in  any  way 
between  the  child  and  the  Creator,  but, 


THE  CHILD'S  RELIGION       77 

on  the  other  hand,  a  good  many  parents 

consider   that   there   is   for  some  years 

a  difficulty  in  the  minds  of 

Relative      children    as    to    the    inter- 
Importance  of  .  .     ^  ,    . 

Authorities,  vention  01  human  bemgs 
between  them  and  God, 
arising  either  from  their  habit  of  connect- 
ing their  prayers  and  religious  experiences 
mainly  with  their  mother  or  nurse,  or 
from  a  curious  inability  to  realise  the 
supremacy  of  the  Almighty.  An  example 
of  this  latter  difficulty  may  be  given  in  the 
words  of  a  little  child  in  Yorkshire  who 
was  overheard  to  say  to  a  companion, 
**  Don't  do  that  or  perhaps  God  will  see 
you,  and  He'll  teU  the  Vicar." 

Much  has  been  written  by  others  about 

children's  prayers,  but  it  is  impossible  to 

ignore  what  is  to  them  the 

^Praye«'*     most  real  and  important  part 

of    their    religion.    A    lady 

living  in  Cheltenham  says  :  "I  think  that 

children  get  a  belief  in  prayer  very  early. 


78        BOOK  OF  THE  CHILD 

My  youngest  girl  the  other  day  looked 
tired,  so  I  said  that  she  had  better 
not  come  to  the  evening  service.  '  Oh, 
but  I  must/  she  said,  '  I  want  to  pray 
for  Miss  Beale.'  "  This  was  at  the  begin- 
ning of  that  well-known  lady's  fatal  illness. 
Another  example  of  belief  in  prayer  on 
the  part  of  a  child  was  brought  to  the 

notice  of  the  present  writer 
^Tn^p^aylr!^^  by  a  sister  of  the   boy  of 

whom  the  story  is  told. 
When  a  very  little  chap  his  brothers  and 
sisters  were  all  invited  to  a  children's 
party  at  a  neighbouring  house,  but  he 
had  not  been  included.  Much  to  his 
grief  it  was  decided  that  he  had  better 
be  put  to  bed  when  the  others  started 
for  the  party.  When  saying  his  prayers 
he  earnestly  asked  that  even  yet  he  might 
go  to  the  party.  He  had  hardly  been 
tucked  up  in  bed  before  a  messenger 
came  to  say  that  the  omission  of  his  name 
had  been  an  accident  and  that  it  was  hoped 


THE  CHILD'S   RELIGION       79 

he  might  still  come.  He  was  hurriedly 
dressed,  and  in  a  few  minutes  had  joined 
the  others  in  their  festivity.  The  impres- 
sion made  upon  the  boy's  mind  was  never 
erased.  From  that  day  forward  he  never 
failed  to  pray  about  every  smallest  event. 
If  he  went  to  a  shop  to  buy  a  knife  he 
would  pray  to  be  guided  in  his  choice. 
If  he  went  out  to  dinner  he  would  silently 
pray  as  he  took  off  his  coat  in  the  hall 
that  the  evening  might  be  enjoyable. 
Nothing  ever  again  shook  him  in  his  belief 
in  the  power  of  prayer. 

Some  of  the  original  petitions  in  chil- 
dren's prayers  are  often  exceedingly  quaint, 
but  they  go  to  prove  their 
Children's     belief  in  their  words  being 
PetitTons.     heard,  and  it  would  be  cruel 
to  laugh  at  them  or  snub 
the   expression    of   their   desires.     Some 
friends  of  the  writer  when  they  were  little 
used  to  be  very  fond  of  interpolating  their 
special  wishes  into  their  prayers.     One 


80        BOOK  OF  THE   CHILD 

of  them  when  a  tiny  girl  kneeUng  at  her 
mother's  side  after  praying  for  her  father 
and  mother  and  brothers  and  sisters, 
\  said,  "  And  please  God  make  mother  less 
strict." 

Another  child  in  the  same  family  had 
been  shown  a  coloured  picture  of  Noah's 
sacrifice  and  the  rainbow,  which  impressed 
her  so  much  that  she  added  to  her  evening 
prayers,  '*  And  oh  !  God,  please  show 
me  a  rainbow  very  soon  !  " 

From  the  same  source  comes  a  charming 
story  of  a  small  boy  who  had  taken  a 
dislike  to  a  cousin  of  his  own  age  called 
Malcolm.  It  so  happened  that  each  of 
them  had  a  baby  brother,  and  the  httle 
boy  in  question  broke  off  in  the  middle 
of  his  prayers  one  evening  to  ejaculate, 
**  Please  God  make  me  and  my  baby 
brother  stronger  and  stronger,  and 
Malcolm  and  his  little  brother  weaker  and 
\  weaker,  so  that  when  we  fight  we  may 
conquer !  " 


THE   CHILD'S   RELIGION       81 

The  next  point  to  be  noticed  in  dealing 

with  the  rehgion  of  children  is  the  vexed 

question  as  to  the  wisdom 

cSgoing.  ^^   enforcing   attendance   at 

pubhc  worship.     There  can 

be   no   doubt   at   all   that,   if   overdone, 

compulsory    churchgoing    may    lead    to 

disastrous    results.     A    man    to    whom 

frequent  attendance  at  ser- 

Too^Much     ^'^^^^    ^^^    ^^^   ^^^   ^^^^   ^^^^ 
irksome,  looks  back  to  his 

childhood  when  he  was  expected  to  be 

present    at    Sunday    services,    week-day 

services,  Sunday  School,  choir  practices, 

missionary  and  other  meetings,  until  he 

became  weary  of  the  very  name  of  such 

things.     Rather    nervous    of    blame,    he 

never    ventured    to    express    a    wish    to 

absent  himself,  and  to  those  early  days 

and  their  discipline  he  ascribes  his  present 

reluctance. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  is  no  doubt  true 

that  it  is  dangerous  to  use  no  compulsion, 
6— (3319) 


82         BOOK   OF  THE  CHILD 

and  to  allow  the  formation   of  a   habit 

of    staying   away    from   church    on   the 

smallest  excuse.      The   real 

Too^LUtU  ^iffi^^l^y  i^  ^^  ^^^^^  ^  course 
between  making  Sunday  the 
dull,  cold,  miserable  day  that  it  too 
frequently  became  in  the  earlier  part  of 
the  last  century  and  allowing  it  to  be 
as  secular  as  it  so  often  is  at  present. 

A  lady  who  has  been  specially  success- 
ful in  bringing  up  her  children  to  love 
Sunday  and  its  observances,  says,  "  I 
make  a  point  of  extra  nice  clothes  and  nice 
food  on  Sundays  (it  sounds  horribly 
material !)  but  I  want  to  make  everything 
connected  with  goodness  and  religion 
attractive,  and,  however  much  we  may 
wish  they  were  not  so,  our  souls  and 
bodies  affect  each  other  in  an  extraor- 
dinary way.  My  youngest  child  of  five 
and  a  half,  having  begun  Churchgoing 
regularly  six  months  ago,  begs  to  stay  on 
through  the  whole  service,  only  saying 


THE   CHILD'S   RELIGION       83 

at  the  end,  '  What  a  lot  of  kneehng  !  But 
I  like  it ;  can  I  stay  again  ?  '  Of  course, 
there  were  two  reasons  for  his  wish  : 
his  love  of  being  near  me,  and  the  music 
which  he  also  loves." 

Another  instance  may  be  quoted  here, 

taken,  as  was  the  last,  from  the  family 

of  lay  people.     Here  again 

^^w^b^^     everything  was  done  to  make 

Children.      Sundays  bright  and  happy 

and  to  bring  up  the  children 

to    consider    Churchgoing    a    treat.     So 

fond  did  they  become  of  the  services  that 

the  two  youngest — a  girl  of  seven  and  a 

boy  of  five — were  accustomed  to  hold  a 

special  service  of  their  own  when  with 

their  mother  in  the  drawing-room  after 

tea  on  Sundays.    Their  mother  describes 

these  functions  as  follows,  and,  though 

they  may  seem  to  some  people  to  have 

a    spice    of     '*  play     acting,"    yet    the 

children  were  extremely  in  earnest  in  all 

they  did.     Here  is  her  account :    "  They 


84         BOOK   OF  THE  CHILD 

used  to  put  on  pinafores,  the  opening  to 
come  in  front,  and  wore  sashes  for  stoles. 
My  duty  was  to  sit  at  the  piano  as 
organist.  I  had  to  play  a  voluntary  as 
they  came  in.  They  chose  the  hymns, 
and  each  chose  a  chapter  in  the  Bible  to 
read.  They  stood  on  a  chair  to  read  their 
chapters.  One  day  I  remember  that  the 
little  boy,  who  could  not  yet  read  very 
fluently,  chose  the  one  in  St.  Luke 
with  seventy-two  verses  and  went  straight 
on  with  it  to  the  end  !  They  took  it  in 
turns  to  preach,  again  standing  on  the 
chair.  The  elder  child  always  wrote  her 
sermon,  but  the  little  boy's  was  extem- 
pore. After  the  sermon  the  missionary 
box  was  handed  round  and  we  each  put 
something  in.  The  service  ended  by 
their  kneeling  down  side  by  side  and 
singing  '  Jesu,  tender  Shepherd,  hear 
me.'  One  evening  the  younger  child 
stood  up  on  his  chair  to  preach,  and  began 
to  get  redder  and  redder  and  looked  very 


THE  CHILD'S   RELIGION       85 

much  worried,  but  I  did  not  dare  to  move 
from  my  seat  as  organist.  At  last  his 
sister  whispered,  '  What's  the  matter, 
darhng  ? '  on  which  he  said,  '  Every 
word  of  the  sermon  has  gone  out  of  my 
head.'  So  she  promptly  stood  on  her 
chair  and  said,  '  The  congregation  will 
excuse  the  sermon  this  evening.  Hymn 
No.  348.'  I  have  come  across  one  of  the 
little  girl's  written  sermons,  and  give  it 
here  : — 

"'Little Children  Love  one  Another.' 

"  *  You   love    your  brother  and  sister 

very  much  indeed  though  you  do  fight 

with  them.  Yes,  that  noutty, 
A  Child's  noutty  Sayten  gets  inside 
Sermon.      -^g,  and  then  we  can't  fight 

without  Jesus'  help.  Yes, 
if  we  ask  Him  to  help  us  I  know  He  will. 
He  is  so  kind.  He  will  do  almost  any- 
thing you  ask  Him  to  do  for  you,  if  it  is 
not  wrong.  Yes,  we  all  go  wrong  some- 
times and  feel  very  cross  with  ourselfs. 


86        BOOK  OF  THE   CHILD 

Little  children  sometimes  think  that  all 
big  people  are  very  good  indeed,  but  they 
all  go  wrong,  too,  as  well  as  you  or  I  might, 
but  God  knows  all  our  ways  and  what 
we  do  and  sees  and  hears  what  we  say. 
Oh !  then,  little  children,  love  one 
another,  and  so  we  must  love  Him.' " 

As  to  the  number  and  kind  of  services 

to    which    children    should   be    taken   it 

is  impossible    to   lay    down 

Simplicity     a     general     rule.        Where 

in  Speaking  to    ^j  ^,  .,  ,        >       c        •         >» 

Children.  Children  s  Services  are 
held  by  a  man  who  has  the 
gift  of  attracting  and  interesting  children, 
the  difficulty  is  partially  solved.  But 
these  are  not  much  use  when  they  are 
conducted  by  persons  who  cannot  suffi- 
ciently simplify  their  language,  or  by 
those  who  are  so  far  out  of  sympathy  with 
their  audience  as  to  appear  to  be  conde- 
scending or  in  the  smallest  degree  pom- 
pous— characteristics  which  are  readily 
observed  and  resented  by  all  children. 


THE  CHILD'S   RELIGION       87 

But  probably  many  people  will  agree 
that  "  Children's  Services  "  alone  cannot 
supply  all  that  is  required,  in  so  far  as 
they  do  not  accustom  children  to  the 
ordinary  Church  services,  as  to  which  it 
is  not  too  much  to  say  that  a  certain 
amount  of  familiarity  breeds  affection 
rather  than  contempt. 

But  in  considering  the  advisability  of 

taking   Httle    children   to    Church,    due 

regard  must  be  had  to  the 

Differences    individual    child.       As    has 
in  Children's 

Temperament,  been  said,  it  is  absolutely 
impossible  to  lay  down  a 
general  rule.  Even  the  members  of  the 
same  family  are  frequently  so  different  in 
disposition  as  to  make  it  unwise  to  treat 
them  all  alike.  Some  may  be  so  sensitive 
to  the  awe-inspiring  atmosphere  of  reli- 
gious services  as  to  cause  a  fear  lest  their 
mind  should  become  morbid  on  the 
subject.  Very  probably  such  children 
would  express  a  strong  wish  to  attend  on 


88        BOOK  OF  THE  CHILD 

every  possible  occasion,  but  their  pleasure 
is  akin  to  that  which  is  sometimes  felt  by 
people  of  unhealthy  mind  who  dehght 
in  torturing  themselves  by  picturing 
nameless  horrors.  Other  children,  and 
these  are  the  most  frequently  found,  look 
upon  Churchgoing  as  an  entertainment 
enjoyed  by  grown-up  people  and  therefore 
much  to  be  desired,  though  they  them- 
selves soon  grow  weary  of  the  whole 
thing. 

An  example  of  what  is  meant  came  to 

the  notice  of  the  writer  a  short  time   ago 

when   staying  in   the   same 

^r  Church?''  house  with  two  httle  children, 

a   brother   and   sister,    who 

were  taken  to  an  afternoon  service  for 

almost  the  first  time  in  their  lives.     The 

boy,  a  year  or  two  the  elder,  was  a  rather 

nervous,  highly-strung  little  chap,  and  he 

spent  nearly  the  whole  time  in  saying  in 

a  very  low  voice,    "  O   God,   help  me  ! 

I  will  be  good !  "     He  seemed  unable  to 


THE  CHILD'S  RELIGION       89 

think  of  anything  but  the  fact  that  he 
was  in  God's  house,  and  unable  to  get 
rehef  from  the  overpowering  sensation  of 
awe.  His  httle  sister,  on  the  other  hand — 
a  fat,  merry,  matter-of-fact  child — evi- 
dently considered  the  whole  thing  to  be 
a  kind  of  social  function  interfered  with 
by  most  unnecessary  restrictions.  She 
turned  herself  about  from  side  to  side 
and  nodded  and  smiled  at  her  numerous 
acquaintances,  paying  especial  attention 
to  the  seats  occupied  by  the  servants  from 
the  house  where  she  was  staying.  After 
a  time  she  yawned  audibly  and  gave 
obvious  signs  of  getting  bored,  finally 
nestling  against  her  mother's  side  and 
faUing  sound  asleep.  It  is  obvious  to 
everyone  that  two  children  such  as  these 
would  need  very  different  treatment  in 
the  matter  of  Churchgoing  and  religious 
education  generally. 

Such  a  child  as  the  little  girl  described 
above  may  be  said  to  possess  the  normal 


90        BOOK  OF  THE  CHILD 

feelings   of   her  age.     Most  very  young 

children  are  entirely  unable  to  grasp  the 

greatness   of   God    and    the   seriousness 

of  religion.     If  they  appear 

Children's     ^q     Q^^er      people     to     be 

Unintentional  ^      ^ 

Irreverence,  irreverent,  it  must  not  be 
counted  to  them  for  a  sin. 
It  is  simply  caused  by  the  limitations  of 
their  understanding.  Thus,  a  small  child 
was  heard  to  call  out  during  the  baptism 
of  a  baby,  *'  Why  doesn't  he  use  a  sponge  ? " 
No  irreverence  was  meant,  but  the  remark 
showed  that  the  child's  mind  was  further 
developed  in  practical  than  in  spiritual 
matters.  So,  again,  the  absurd  questions 
so  often  put  by  little  children  when  told 
that  God  is  everywhere.  It  is  very 
common  for  them  at  once  to  suggest  all 
kinds  of  ridiculous  places  without  meaning 
in  any  way  to  be  irreverent. 

Such  things  of  course  add  to  the 
difficulties  of  teaching  religion  to  those 
who   are   very   young,  but  it   is  certain 


THE  CHILD'S   RELIGION       91 

that  great  patience    and    tenderness    is 

necessary   for    those    who    attempt    the 

task.     Forgetfulness  of   the 

Great        point  of   view  of  the  child 
Patience       ^ 

Necessary,  often  leads  to  expressions  of 
horror  and  even  of  anger 
at  apparently  profane  remarks,  but  such 
expressions  are  unjust  and  may  not 
seldom  give  the  child  a  permanent  dislike 
to  what  ought  to  be  the  happiest  of  all 
its  lessons. 

One  other  caution  may  be  given  here. 

It  is  a  fatal  mistake  for  those  who  are 

bringing  up  little  children  to 

Little  Children  gpeak  in  their   presence   of 
have  Long         ^  ^ 

Ears.         religious  matters  in  a  way 

which  they  do  not  desire  the 
children  to  absorb  and  do  not  fancy  that 
they  understand.  A  child  may  be  build- 
ing a  house  of  bricks  in  a  far  corner  of 
the  room  and  yet  be  listening  with  all  its 
ears  to  the  talk  going  on  between  its 
elders.     A  very  little  boy  was  once  taken 


92         BOOK  OF  THE  CHILD 

to  Church  when  a  sermon  was  preached 
about  the  Will  of  God.  No  one  thought 
it  possible  that  he  understood  a  word  of 
it,  but  at  tea  that  afternoon  he  was,  being 
slightly  out  of  sorts,  allowed  no  jam,  on 
which  he  promptly  said,  "  Well,  if  it's 
God's  Will  that  I  should  have  nothing 
but  bread  and  butter,  it's  no  good  fighting 
against  it ! " — a  practical  and  excellent 
comment  upon  the  morning's  sermon. 

Lest  anything  that  has  been  written  in 
this  chapter  should  seem  to  be  discourag- 
ing as  to  the  religious  training  of  children, 
two  things  may  be  set  down  here  as  full 
of  hope. 

The  first  may  be  disposed  of  in  a  few 

words.     There  is  little  doubt  that  women 

are  naturally  more  religious 

ol^'womL  than  men,  or  at  least  that 
they  more  easily  give  ex- 
pression to  their  feelings  and  beliefs. 
What  a  great  matter  it  is,  then,  that  the 


THE  CHILD'S   RELIGION       93 

earliest  training  of  children  is  in  the  hands 
of  women  !  It  is  quite  possible  that  the 
reason  for  the  greater  religious  expression 
on  the  part  of  women  lies  to  some  extent 
in  the  fact  that  girls  remain  so  much 
longer  under  the  direct  influence  of  their 
mother.  But  that  is  by  the  way  ;  what 
is  important  is  that  there  are  multitudes 
of  truly  religious  women  who  may  best 
of  all  be  trusted  to  impart  their  own  faith 
to  little  children. 

The  other  matter  for  hopefulness  lies 
in  the  fact   that   the    very  things  that 
often  present  difficulties  to 
D  r^ht^^^'th  gr^wn-up  people  are  specially 
Unseen.       attractive  to  children.    Any- 
thing   connected    with    the 
unseen  world,  anything  quite  impossible 
according  to  the  laws  of  nature  as  we 
know  them,  interests  and  takes  hold  of 
children  at  once.     This  is  plain  from  the 
often-repeated   request,    "  Do   tell   us   a 
fairy  story." 


94         BOOK  OF  THE  CHILD 

When  to  this  is  added  the  impression 

made  on  a  child's  mind  by  the  vision 

of  a  gorgeous  sunset,  or  of  a 

Impression    great    \vide-spreading    view, 

Beauties      there  seems  to  be  a  good  deal 

of  Nature,     upon  which  it  is  possible  to 

work.    A  man  friend  of  the 

writer  has  told  him  that  his  first  real 

impressions  of  the  greatness  and  goodness 

of  God  came  to  him  as  a  child  when 

contemplating  beautiful  scenery;  and  an 

aunt  of  the  late  Bishop  Walsham  How 

used  to  say  that  when  he  was  a  very  little 

boy,  and  was  looking  from  a  window  at 

the  sunset,  he  was  heard  to  say,   ''  Oh  ! 

God  !  " 

How  easy  it  would  be  to  kill  these 

beginnings   of   faith !     How   easy   for   a 

teacher  who  had  studied  the 

^CritkLm^''    Higher  Criticism  to  wither 

the  growth  of  a  beUef  in  the 

unseen    and    incomprehensible !      Is    it 

worth  while  to  risk  this  by  scrupulously 


THE  CHILD'S   RELIGION       95 

teaching  that  Elijah's  chariot  of  fire  and 
Jonah's  whale  had  better  be  taken  as 
allegories  ?  A  teacher  with  great  expe- 
rience of  little  children  has  said,  and  said 
most  truly,  ''  Religion  attracts  greatly 
because  of  the  mystery  which  surrounds 
the  unseen.  Besides  this,  the  beauty 
and  the  wonderful  fitness  of  all  things  in 
nature  strengthen  more  than  anything 
a  child's  belief  in  a  Divine  Creator." 

Perhaps,  as  one  last  word,  it  may  be 
said  that  that  mother  will  succeed  best 
in  the  religious  training  of  her  children 
who  feels  that  it  is  the  chief  and  highest 
work  she  has  to  do. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE   CHILD — ITS   IMITATION 

No  one  who  has  to  do  with  children  can 
fail  to  be  struck  by  their  almost  universal 
\  habit    of    imitation.       This 

Selection  of    begins  at  a  very  early  age, 
the^Path^of    ^^^'    while   some   imitative 
a  Child.      expressions  and  gestures  are 
partly  the  result  of  heredity, 
others    are    ob\dously    copied    from    the 
persons   with   whom   the   child  is  most 
familiar.     This  makes  it,  of  course,  ex- 
tremely important  that  the  servants  and 
even  the  friends  who  are  brought  most 
closely  into  contact  with  a  child  should 
be  selected  with  the  greatest  care. 

How  often  a  bad  accent  or  "  twang  "  is 
picked  up  as  soon  as  a  child  begins  to 
speak,  and  with  what  difficulty  it  is 
eradicated  afterwards  !     The  habit,  too, 

96 


THE  CHILD'S  IMITATION      97 

which  obtains    with  some  parents  (who 

do  not  want  to    be  bothered  with  their 

children)    of    letting    them 

S^ants'Vall.  ^^"^^    ^^^^^    ^^^^^    ^^^^  ^^^ 
servants    is    greatly    to    be 

deprecated.      It  saves  the  trouble  of  a 

special  nursery  dinner,  audit  often  happens 

that  the  servants  in  a  house  are  fonder  of 

the  company  of  the  children  than  are  their 

parents,  but  for  all  that  the  tendency  to 

imitate  is  so  strong  that  habits  are  pretty 

sure  to  be  learnt  which  it  will  be  very 

troublesome    to    get    rid    of   afterwards. 

Here  is  an  example  : 

A  little  girl,  whom  circumstances  had 

relegated  to  the  entire  charge  of  servants, 

was  taken  out  to  a  children's  tea-party, 

when  she  was  scarcely  four  years   old. 

It  was  a  splendid  tea,  and  she  was  a  fine 

healthy  little  girl  with  an  equally  fine 

healthy    appetite.      Bread    and    butter, 

cake,    jam    sandwiches,    and    buns    all 

disappeared  with  equal  ease,  and  there 

7— (2319) 


98        BOOK  OF  THE  CHILD 

came  a  time  when  the  rest  had  finished 
and  she  had  just  one  mouthful  left.  .  .  . 
There  was  a  slight  pause  in  the  general 
chatter,  and  at  that  unlucky  moment  the 
little  girl  in  question  gave  an  unmis- 
takable hiccough.  Many  of  the  children 
there  would  have  blushed  with  distress 
at  such  an  incident,  but  this  little  maiden, 
accustomed  to  the  manners  of  the 
servants'  hall,  looked  round  with  an 
ingratiating  smile  and  merely  remarked 
— "  Copplyments  !  " 

Everyone  has  heard  of  children  who 

have  occasionally  used  "  swear  words  " 

in  imitation  of  their  elders, 

Swear  Words,  and  some  may  possibly  have 

heard  the   true  story   of   a 

little  girl  who  was  given  a  cup  of  tea  to 

hand  to  a  visitor.     As  she  crossed  the 

short  space   with   careful  footsteps   and 

eyes  fixed  anxiously  on  her  burden  she 

was   heard   to   mutter    to   herself    "  By 

George,  baby,  you  must  be  'teady  !  " 


THE  CHILD'S   IMITATION      99 

Examples  such  as  these  show  the 
readiness  with  which  children  pick  up  the 
phraseology  of  their  seniors,  and  it  is  a 
mistake  to  suppose  that,  because  a  child 
does  not  exactly  understand  what  is  said, 
therefore  no  impression  is  made  upon  its 
mind. 

The  greater  the  admiration  of  a  child 
\  for  an  older  person  the  greater  the  desire 
to  imitate  it.  A  small  boy 
^  Uke'pather!  usually  considers  his  father 
the  most  wonderful  man  he 
knows,  and  consequently  spends  a  good 
deal  of  time  and  effort  in  trying  to  be  like 
him.  A  little  chap  of  four  or  five  years 
old  will  throw  himself  into  a  chair  and 
cross  his  legs  in  absurd  imitation  of  his 
father,  and  nothing  seems  too  small  for 
children  to  notice  and  copy.  The  manner 
of  carrying  a  stick,  the  attitude  of  stand- 
ing on  the  hearthrug,  the  little  trick  of 
clearing  the  throat,  will  all  be  reproduced 
to  the  life,  and  it  has  sometimes  been  a 


100       BOOK  OF  THE  CHILD 

matter  of  surprise  to  an  onlooker  that  the 
mimicry  of  some  small  but  absurd  trick 
has  not  been  the  means  of  breaking  the 
older  person  of  the  habit. 

An  excellent  example  of  the  desire  of 
a  little  boy  to  become  like  his  father  was 
brought  to  the  writer's  notice  a  year  or 
two  ago.  A  small  girl,  the  daughter  of 
very  "  horsey "  parents,  was  trying  to 
entertain  a  boy  cousin  a  little  younger 
than  herself.  After  taking  him  into  the 
stables  and  showing  him  the  horses,  she 
turned  to  him  and  said,  ''  I  daresay,  if 
you  are  very  good,  you  might  be  a  groom 
some  day."  To  which  came  the  reply, 
"  No,  I  shan't !  When  I  grows  up  I  shall 
^  be  exactly  like  father — skin  showing 
through  my  hair  and  all !  " 

There  will  often  be  a  great  desire  on 
the  part  of  one  parent  that  a  child  shall 
imitate  and  resemble  the  other.  If  this 
natural  wish  be  carried  too  far  there  is 
a  danger   lest   the   individuality   of    the 


THE  CHILD'S   IMITATION    101 

child  be  interfered  with.      It  must  never 
be  forgotten  that  no  two  people  can  be 

or  were  meant  to  be  exactly 
Individuality  alike,  and  that  in  every 
Encouraged,    child  that  is  born  there  are 

seeds  of  good  qualities  and 
faculties  belonging  specially  to  that  child. 
A  slavish  copy  of  anyone  else,  however 
worthy,  will  assuredly  tend  to  choke  the 
growth  of  these.  It  would  be  impossible 
to  compute  how  many  artists  with  the 
seeds  of  greatness  within  them  have  been 
condemned  to  mediocrity  by  a  life-long 
endeavour  to  reproduce  the  master  from 
whom  they  have  learned,  instead  of 
making  an  endeavour  to  work  out  their 
own  salvation. 

So  it  is  with  children.     Nothing  is  more 
sad  than  to  see  a  child,  at  an  age  when 

his  or  her  natural  freshness 
^"chUd^*^^   and    simplicity    should     be 

most  clearly  in  evidence, 
already  cramped  and  artificial  through  an 


102       BOOK  OF  THE  CHILD 

effort  to  copy  some  older  person.  A 
gentleman  once  took  shelter  in  a  house 
during  a  heavy  storm.  The  master  and 
mistress  were  both  out,  but  their  little 
daughter  was  summoned  from  her  ABC 
to  talk  to  the  unexpected  guest.  He  told 
her  he  was  sorry  to  have  brought  her 
downstairs,  to  which  came  the  simpering 
reply,  "  Oh  !  pray  don't  mention  it !  " 
Imitatio  ad  nauseam  ! 

One  way  in  which  the  love  of  imitation 
comes  out  is  in  the  delight  all  children 
take  in  "  dressing  up,"  and 
Dressing  Up.  in  any  form  of  charades  or 
dumb  crambo.    This  is  pro- 
bably a  very  useful  way  of  developing 
originality  and  of  setting  children's  wits 
to  work.     Where  it  is  not  coupled  with 
the  putting  on  of  gorgeous  raiment,  and 
is  not  merely  an  excuse  for   "  showing 
off,"    the     very    variety     of     character 
assumed   ensures    its  being  a  wholesome 
exercise.     Dumb    crambo    is    especially 


THE  CHILD'S   IMITATION    103 

helpful,    for    in   that    pastime    there    is 
practically    no     opportunity     for     self- 
glorification,     while     it     tends     directly 
to  stimulate   the  children's 
Crambo.      ingenuity  and  to  kill   their 

self-consciousness. 

All  observers  of  child  life  have  noticed 

in  some  little  ones  an  unhealthy  trick  of 

making  faces,  posturing,  or 

Posturing.     <^therwise  trying  to  attract 

attention.    This  is  unnatural 

and   should    be    carefully    watched    and 

eradicated.     But  it  should  be  remembered 

that  in  most  cases  of  that  kind  the  cause 

is  physical — generally  a  weakness  in  the 

nervous  system — and  the  child  must  be 

dealt  with  most  tenderly  though  firmly. 

On  the  other  hand,  many  people  can 

recall    instances    where    what    may    be 

described  as  a  true  theatrical  tendency 

has  shown  itself  in  a  perfectly  healthy 

and    charming   manner   in    very   young 

children.     No  better  example  of  this  can 


104         BOOK  OF  THE  CHILD 

be  found  than  is  contained  in  a  little  paper 
lying  under  the  writer's  hand.  To  trans- 
pose it  would  be  to  spoil  the  vividness  of 
the  story,  so  it  is  given  here  just  in  its 
original  form. 

'*  I  was  more  or  less  of  a  newcomer  in 

our  village  when  I  one  day  received  a 

pressing    invitation    to    tea 

^vfca^rigt^  at  the  Vicarage.  When  I 
arrived  I  found  my  hostess,  a 
charming  white-haired  and  white-shawled 
old  lady,  in  her  usual  arm-chair  by  the 
drawing-room  fire,  and,  seeing  the  chair 
on  the  other  side  of  the  hearth  empty, 
I  dropped  into  it  with  a  delicious  feeling 
of  comfort  after  my  walk  through  the  chill 
and  gloom  of  a  foggy  evening.  I  had  not 
been  many  minutes  installed  when  tea 
was  brought  in,  and  the  hot  cakes  which 
my  soul  loved  were  deposited  on  the  httle 
brass  stand  inside  the  fender  at  my  feet. 

"  Following  fast  on  the  arrival  of  the 
tea  came  the  two  daughters  of  the  house. 


THE  CHILD'S   IMITATION    105 

who  had  been  busy  in  various  parts  of 
the  parish,  and  were  eager  to  compare 
notes  and  exchange  the  gossip  they  had 
gleaned  between  the  gulps  of  hot  tea 
with  which  they  refreshed  the  inner 
woman. 

''Meantime,  I  confess  to  wondering 
why  I  had  been  honoured  with  an  invita- 
tion which  was  almost  as  pressing  as  a 
three-line  whip.  My  curiosity  was  quick- 
ened by  the  fact  that  no  sooner  had  we 
finished  our  meal  than  the  tea-table  was 
carried  off  to  a  distant  part  of  the  room, 
and  a  smile  and  look  of  enquiry  went 
round,  followed  by  a  nod  on  the  part  of 
my  hostess,  the  signal  for  one  of  the 
daughters  to  run  away  for  a  minute  or 
two  from  the  room.  There  was  just  that 
httle  silence  which  precedes  an  '  event,' 
and  then  she  returned  to  be  greeted  by 
'Well?'  'AH  right,'  she  replied,  and 
silence  fell  on  us  again,  to  be  broken 
almost  immediately  by  a  tap  at  the  door, 


106         BOOK  OF  THE  CHILD 

a  tap  that  would  never  have  been  heard 
had  it  not  been  for  our  stillness  of  expec- 
tation. The  elder  and  more  impetuous 
of  the  daughters  made  a  rush  from  her 
chair  but  was  called  back,  and  then  in 
a  moment  I  knew  why  I  had  been  asked. 
From  behind  the  high  screen  just  inside 
the  door  there  peeped  a  baby  face ! 
And  such  a  baby  face  !  Roguishness, 
bashfulness,  mirth,  and  indecision  were 
mingled  in  the  little  dimpling  face  and 
twinkling  blue  eyes. 

"  There  was  a  shake  of  golden  curls — 

no,  not  quite  curls,  and  yet  nothing  else 

expresses  the  tangle  of  light 

^of^B^b*^^  that  formed  a  background  to 
that  beauty  of  two  summers 
— and  then  the  vision  disappeared.  Shy- 
ness had  won  a  momentary  victory,  but 
was  routed  on  a  friendly  hand  being  held 
out  round  the  screen  to  encourage  the 
merry  mischief  that  was  never  far  to  seek 
in  her  to  assert  itself. 


THE  CHILD'S   IMITATION    107 

"  A  little  shriek  of  pleasure,  and  she 
had  run  into  the  middle  of  the  room 
towards  granny's  chair,  but  stopped  short 
just  where  the  circle  of  light  from  a  reading 
lamp  fell  upon  her.  I  shall  not  soon 
forget  the  picture.  I  had  never  seen  her 
before,  and,  coming  upon  me  in  this 
unexpected  way  with  her  brightness  and 
her  beauty  and  her  marvellous  expression, 
she  made  an  impression  out  of  all 
proportion  to  her  years. 

"  It  was,  I  fear,  the  sight  of  me  that 
caused  her  to  stop  so  suddenly  in  her  run 
to  the  loving  arms  that  were  stretched  out 
for  her. 

"  Neither  she  nor  I  had  been  prepared 
for  the  sight  of  the  other,  and  a  strange 
and  bearded  man  may  well  alarm  a  little 
lady  of  two. 

"  There  was,  no  doubt,  at  first  a  distinct 
look  of  alarm,  but  she  rose  to  the  occasion. 
It  might  no  doubt  be  possible  to  overawe 
this    new    and    ferocious-looking   being : 


108  BOOK   OF  THE  CHILD 

at    all   events   it  would  be  well  to  try, 
or  he   might  perhaps  be  open  to  a  joke 

and  be  propitiated  in  that 
Ac^esjf      ^^y  '     Some  such  thoughts 

were  evidently  in  her  mind, 
for  first  of  all  she  stared  at  me  with  a 
frown,  then  made  a  deliciously  dignified 
bow  towards  me,  and  then,  almost  before 
the  bow  was  finished,  stooped  down,  and 
drew  her  frock  round  her  feet,  saying, 
'  Baby  dot  no  legs  !  '  going  off  into  a  fit 
of  decidedly  forced  laughter  by  way  of 
carrying  off  her  joke,  should  I  prove  too 
dense  to  see  it. 

'*  Well,  it  served  her  purpose  :  it  was 
a  kind  of  introduction,  and  it  enabled  her 
to  get  over  the  awkward  moments  of  her 
first  shyness  and  to  reach  the  haven  of 
granny's  chair.  We  were  soon  firm  friends 
after  that.  I  happened  to  have  a  watch 
*  like  daddy's,'  which  was  an  assurance 
of  my  respectability,  and  I  openly  and 
fervently    admired    a    certain    pair    of 


THE  CHILD'S   IMITATION    109 

little  red  shoes,  and  what  lady  can 
resist  a  well-timed  compliment  on  her 
turn-out  ? 

"  After  a  short  time  spent  in  such  polite 
conversation,  it  suddenly  occurred  to  the 
little  fairy  that  she  was  not  doing  her 
proper  share  towards  entertaining  the 
company.  A  little  wriggle  freed  her  from 
any  restraining  hands  or  inconvenient 
people,  and  she  ran  to  the  far  end  of  the 
room.  From  this  vantage  ground  she 
ran  forward  from  time  to  time  into  the 
better-lit  part  at  our  end  with  all  the 
anxiety  to  be  well  received  of  a  born 
actress.  The  first  '  act '  consisted  in  her 
picking  up  her  tiny  skirts  and  walking  on 
her  toes,  saying  '  Muddy,  muddy  !  Baby's 
feet  wet ! '  Then  with  a  shriek  of  delight 
she  rushed  off,  to  come  back  the  next 
minute  waving  her  hands  over  her  head 
and  gazing  solemnly  upwards,  saying, 
*  Wind  b'owing  !  Clouds  and  wind  ! 
Baby's  f 'ightened  !  '     But  this  only  lasted 


110         BOOK  OF  THE  CHILD 

for  a  minute  before  she  dashed  off  and 
returned  declaring  that  she  was  another 
child,  a  little  girl  she  had  not  seen  more 
than  once  or  twice,  but  whom  she 
evidently  desired  to  imitate. 

"It  is  impossible  to  describe  the  effect 
produced  upon  me  by  this  extraordinary 
performance  by  so  young  a  child.  Her 
rapid  change  of  mood  bewildered  me  : 
the  mischievous  laughter  of  one  moment 
was  so  quickly  followed  by  a  look  of 
wonder  or  terror  or  sadness,  to  be  suc- 
ceeded in  its  turn  by  a  sudden  scream 
of  delight,  that  I  felt  as  if  I  were  watching 
something  not  altogether  canny.  It  was 
really  almost  a  relief  when  at  last  she 
buried  her  face  in  a  friendly  lap  and  cried 
for  bed  and  *  nanna.' 

"  Even  then  the  rapid  change  of  mood 

was  not  all  over,  for  in  the  midst  of  her 

tears  she  was  gathered  into 

nurse's     comfortable    arms, 

and  as  she   left   the    room  a   decidedly 


THE  CHILD'S   IMITATION    111 

pert    little    voice    was    heard    to    say, 
'  Baby  did  c'y  ! ' 

"  So  I  found  out  why  my  friends  at  the 
Vicarage,  who  knew  my  weakness  for 
children,  had  asked  me  to  tea,  but  I  have 
never  been  able  to  analyse  the  exact 
impression  left  on  my  mind  beyond  that  of 
a  lovely  and  excited  baby." 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE   CHILD — ITS   PLEASURES 

What    a    happiness    it    is    that    in    the 

memories   of   most   people   the   joys   of 

childhood  so  far  exceed  its 

Happiness.  S^iefs.  Two  of  the  most 
powerful  agents  for  good  in 
the  life  of  a  child  are  love  and  happiness, 
and  it  may  be  confidently  assumed  that 
where  there  is  an  abundance  of  the 
former  the  existence  of  the  latter  is 
assured. 

It  may  happily  be  asserted  that  it  has 
been  the  sad  lot  of  few  of  those  who  read 
these  lines  to  have  known  an  unloved 
childhood.  To  this  may  be  ascribed 
the  happy  recollections  of  most  who 
look  back  upon  their  earliest  years. 

But  in  this  chapter  some  attempt  will 
be    made    to    examine    certain    special 

112 


THE  CHILD'S   PLEASURES    113 

pleasures  rather  than  to  generalise  as  to 
the  atmosphere  of  happiness  in  which 
alone  a  child  will  really  thrive. 

While   happiness   is   necessary   for   all 

children,   those   who  have   most   closely 

studied  child  life  will  agree 

homines  tot  sent  entice  "  may 
well  be  applied  to  the  great  variety  of 
ways  in  which  this  happiness  is  sought. 
It  is  impossible  to  treat  all  children  alike, 
or  to  lay  down  any  general  rule.  A  little 
girl  will  find  her  chief  dehght  in  dogs  and 
horses,  while  Iier  brother  steals  away  to 
play  with  dolls.  Two  small  boys  will  go 
out  into  the  garden,  and,  while  one  is  keen 
to  learn  any  sort  of  manly  game,  the  other 
stands  about  cold  and  listless,  bored  to 
death  by  the  mere  sight  of  bat  or 
ball. 

Nothing  is  less  hkely  to  produce  happi- 
ness than  to  attempt  to  force  little  children 
to    amuse    themselves    in   any  set  way. 

8— (2319) 


114         BOOK   OF  THE  CHILD 

How  many  people  have  been  disappointed 

by   their   efforts   in    this    direction  !     A 

''recreation *' ground  has  per- 

Faiiure  of     ];japs  \)qqxi  provided  by  some 

Compulsory  r  ir 

Pleasures,  charitable  person  at  great 
expense.  Ten  to  one  it  will 
be  deserted  by  the  little  ones  for  whom  it 
was  primarily  intended  and  given  over  to 
the  tender  mercies  of  lads  and  lasses  in 
their  *'  teens."  The  small  children  find 
nothing  left  to  their  imagination,  and 
infinitely  prefer  some  dirty,  and,  to  adult 
eyes,  disadvantageous  corner. 

There  was  just  such  a  case  in  a  large 
northern  town.  The  recreation  ground  was 
opened  with  pomp,  and  was  elaborately 
fitted  with  swings,  parallel  bars,  etc.  For 
a  week  or  two  a  few  children  made  efforts 
to  amuse  themselves  there,  but  it  was 
quickly  deserted.  In  the  immediate 
neighbourhood  were  sundry  patches  of 
ground  where  no  houses  had  as  yet 
been  built,  and  on  which  lay  fascinating 


THE  CHILD'S   PLEASURES    115 

heaps  of  brick  bats  and  refuse.  Needless 
to  say  these  offered  far  greater  attractions 
than  the  new  and  orderly  playground. 
Small  children  do  not  care  to  play  "  to 
order.*'  They  have  enough  of  that  during 
school  hours.  When  they  get  a  bit  older 
they  will  be  willing  enough  to  join  in 
games  on  specified  grounds  and  governed 
by  codes  of  rules,  but  while  they  are  little 
they  like  to  find  their  own  playgrounds 
and  invent  their  own  games. 

Memory  brings  a  vision  of  two  children, 
one  a  little  girl  with  soft  dark  hair  and 
big  black  eyes,  who  is  dressed 
^s?a^ck\rd  ^  ii^  ^  blue  and  white  cotton 
frock,  and  a  big  white  straw 
hat ;    the  other  a  sturdy,  but  common- 
place   boy,    in    grey    knickerbockers,    a 
hoUand  blouse,  with  a  broad  black  leather 
belt,  and  a  flannel  cap.     They  are  about 
the  same  age,  neither  of  them  being  yet 
seven,  and  they  are  playing  in  a  stack- 
yard.    It  is  not  the  stacks  that  are  the 


116         BOOK   OF  THE   CHILD 

attraction,  for  just  now  there  are  none 
there,  but  for  all  that  it  is  a  glorious  play- 
ground. In  the  first  place,  it  is  well  out 
of  the  way  of  the  grown-up  people,  and 
in  the  next  place,  though  there  are  no 
stacks,  there  are  the  stone  supports  on 
which  they  once  stood.  What  excellent 
tables  they  make,  these  old  grey  upright 
blocks,  of  which  the  flat  round  tops 
project  like  real  tables,  and  are  practically 
useful  in  preventing  rats  and  mice  from 
climbing  up.  But  there  is  something  else 
which  has  drawn  the  children  to  that  spot, 
for  all  about  in  the  yard  there  is  to  be 
found  a  tall  plant  with  a  quantity  of  red 
seed,  which  must,  I  fancy,  be  some  kind  of 
sorrel.  It  is  delicious  to  draw  your  hand 
up  the  stalk  and  bring  it  away  full  of  this 
seed,  and  that  is  what  these  children  are 
busy  doing. 

Next  they  put  it  in  a  heap  on  a  slate 
which  they  have  discovered,  and  then 
search  for  pieces  of  brick  and  fiat  stone, 


THE  CHILD'S   PLEASURES   117 

which  are  piled  on  the  top.  In  this  way  a 
certain  quantity  of  the  seed  is  compressed, 
and  called  a  cheese,  which  is  deposited  with 
ceremony  upon  one  of  the  stone  tables. 

The  little  girl  has  been  the  leader 
throughout ;  she  has  decided  which 
plants  were  ripe  enough  to  be  stripped, 
how  much  seed  was  necessary  to  form  a 
cheese,  and  upon  which  of  the  stones  the 
feast  should  be  spread.  The  boy  has  been 
her  obedient  servant,  a  position  of  things 
which  reaches  its  climax  when  the  little 
lady  suddenly  states  that  she  doesn't  like 
cheese,  and  orders  him  to  eat  it  all  up  ! 

This  is  a  vision  that  has  come  from  time 
to  time  for  more  than  forty  years,  and 
few  playgrounds  have  seemed  so  attractive. 

Then  there  is  the  old  tree  of  the  garden. 

Who  does  not^  love  the  memory  of  the 

games  played  beneath  it,  and 

In'ti^VrZ.  the  seats  it  afforded  among 

its  boughs  ?    Maybe  it  was  a 

mulberry,   or  merely  an  ancient  laurel. 


118         BOOK  OF  THE  CHILD 

Playgrounds  may  be  found  in  and  under 
both.  In  another  case  it  was  a  mighty 
yew,  noted  in  the  annals  of  the  county. 
A  few  feet  up  upon  its  massive  stem,  the 
children  had  special  seats,  and  woe  betide 
intruders  caught  trespassing  !  Beneath  it 
was  a  long  bench,  of  which  the  supports 
were  obviously  at  one  time  a  part  of  one 
of  the  great  boughs,  while  the  seat  had 
in  the  distant  ages  been  green. 

What  feasts  were  spread  upon  this  seat 

— what  shops  were  kept  with  this  for  the 

counter  !      There  is  a  dust 

^^  Shop.  ^^  ^^^^  *^^^s  beneath  old  yews, 
and  consists  of  the  dead  and 
crumbled  petals.  What  splendid  stuff  it 
is  to  play  with  !  It  can  be  sold  as  snuff, 
or  almost  anything,  and  it  pours  out  of  a 
teapot  as  easily  as  water.  But  there  is 
no  need  to  say  more ;  everyone  can 
remember  the  invented  games,  and  the 
best-loved  haunts  of  their  childhood. 

One  more  playground  of  a  thoroughly 


THE  CHILD'S   PLEASURES   119 

unconventional   character   may   well   be 

mentioned  here.    It  is  just  where  the  base 

of  one  of  the  Whitby  piers 

A  Whitby  ,  ,  .    . 

Playground,    starts  from  the  end  of  a  narrow 

street  or  passage.    The  huge 

stones  worn  and  rounded  at  their  edge 

make   a   couple   of   steps   down   to   the 

water's  edge,  but  steps  so  big  that,  if  you 

are  still  a  small  boy,  they  compel  you  to 

sit  down  and  slide  and  scramble,  holding 

on  as  best  you  may,  till  you  have  reached 

the  bottom.     It  is  great  fun  to  watch 

the  children  descending  by  their  various 

methods.    Big  boys  (and  girls  too)  manage 

it  easily,  laughing  and  shouting  as  they 

bump  their  way  down.     But  with  the 

little  ones  it  is  different.     A  girl  arrives, 

with  a  baby  wrapped  up  in  a  shawl ;  this 

requires  management :   baby  is  set  down 

on  the  top  step,  and  told  to  stay  quite 

still,   then  away  slides  the  small  nurse 

on  to  the  intermediate  resting-place  some 

three  or  four  feet  below ;   then  a  pair  of 


120         BOOK   OF  THE  CHILD 

arms  are  stretched  up,  and  baby  struggles 
into  them  with  a  chuckle  of  satisfaction, 
and  is  once  more  deposited,  while  the 
elder  sister  springs  down  on  to  the  soft 
wet  sand,  and  next  minute  baby,  too,  is 
safe  in  the  desired  corner.  This  is  what 
it  practically  is,  this  desirable  playground, 
just  a  corner  in  the  harbour  laid  bare  at 
low  tide,  and  having  the  pier  on  its  one 
side,  and  the  walls  of  the  old  town  on  the 
other.  How  lovely  those  old  walls  were  ! 
Looking  right  up  one  sees  the  ends  pro- 
jecting above  the  gables  of  red-tiled  roofs, 
while  below  are  the  grey  walls — no,  not 
grey,  though  many  seem  so  at  first  sight, 
but  yellow,  blue,  red,  green — every  colour, 
in  fact,  that  stones  will  take,  when  long 
exposed  to  sea  and  weather.  Then  at  the 
bottom  just  above  the  sand  runs  a  long 
wide  course  of  stones  that  are  covered 
by  every  tide,  and  have  in  consequence 
become  clothed  with  a  fringe  of  brown 
and  green  and  golden  seaweed. 


THE  CHILD'S   PLEASURES    121 

There  are  small  windows  here  and  there, 
high  up  in  the  walls,  and  now  and  again 
a  sheet  or  a  towel  is  hung  out  to  dry,  a 
picturesque  object  enough  against  a  mass 
of  building ;  and  from  above  the  wall  of 
a  yard  a  number  of  poles,  leaning  in  the 
corner,  project  and  break  the  monotony 
of  the  surface. 

It  lies  right  inside  the  harbour,  and 
every  time  the  tide  goes  down  it  leaves 
a  certain  quantity  of  semi-decomposed 
objects  to  scent  the  atmosphere  of  this 
special  spot. 

Then  again,  what  is  far  worse,  there  are 
small  square  openings  here  and  there  in 
the  wall  and  from  these  there  trickle 
continuously  the  contents  of  many  wash- 
tubs  and  slop-pails.  Yet  here  it  is  that 
a  group  of  children  come  whenever  the 
tide  allows,  to  play  their  quiet  games — 
quiet,  for  they  never  run  about  or  make 
much  noise,  but  seem  happiest  crawling 
on  hands  and  knees,  or  squatting  in  a 


122        BOOK   OF  THE  CHILD 

circle  and  playing  with  the  garbage  and 
refuse  which  has  stranded  there. 

This  is  doubtless  the  attraction  ;  the 

beauties  of  the  scene  evidently  never  occur 

to    them    at    all,    the    evil 

^Trote'^  smells  affect  them  not.  But 
there  are  new  playthings 
there  continually.  As  the  water  recedes 
fresh  treasures  day  by  day  are  left  upon 
the  shiny  floor — half  sand,  half  mud — of 
their  playground.  What  opportunities 
for  their  invention  and  imagination  ! 
Yesterday  there  were  two  small  dead 
crabs,  a  broken  saucer,  and  an  empty 
sardine  box  ;  to-day's  chief  items  are  the 
wicker  end  of  a  worn-out  lobster-pot, 
a  bit  of  rope,  and  a  whole  quantity  of 
mussel  shells  which  have  been  thrown 
away  after  the  baiting  of  a  long  line. 
What  endless  games  are  played  with  these 
materials  !  First  of  all  the  shells  are 
pushed  into  the  sand  squares,  making 
little  gardens,  which  are  duly  furnished 


THE  CHILD'S  PLEASURES    123 

with  bits  of  green  seaweed.  To  them 
comes  a  small  market  woman  carrying  the 
fragment  of  wicker-work  in  which  she 
places  the  green  stuff  she  purchases  and 
pays  for  with  pebbles,  the  bit  of  rope 
being  used  to  sling  the  laden  basket  on  her 
bent  back,  as  she  walks  off  to  market 
under  the  heavy  load. 

Then  the  shells  are  hurriedly  gathered 
up,  and  baby  is  established  with  her  back 
against  the  wall,  and  in 
^"""of  ^Shop.""^  front  of  her  the  total  accu- 
mulation of  odds  and  ends 
is  arranged  in  lots,  each  one  marked  off 
by  a  line  drawn  in  the  sand,  and  then  the 
children  come  to  buy  at  baby's  shop — 
a  matter  of  huge  delight  to  the  shopkeeper, 
who  distributes  her  goods  rashly  and 
impulsively,  and  is  evidently  bored  at 
being  made  to  receive  payment ! 

But  an  end  comes  at  last :  a  voice  is 
heard  shouting,  baby  is  lifted  up  on  to 
the  first  step  again,  and  all  the  little  bare 


124        BOOK  OF  THE  CHILD 

legs  and  ruddy  feet  go  scampering  off  to 
tea! 

It  would  be  easy  enough  to  give  many 

more  examples  than  these  two  or  three, 

but  they  will  be  sufficient  to 

Playing  at    illustrate   the  preference  of 

Being  \  ^ 

Grown  Up.  little  children  of  all  and 
every  class  for  unconven- 
tional playgrounds  and  games  proceeding 
from  their  own  vivid  imaginations.  Ima- 
gination supplies  the  keynote  to  so  many 
of  the  pleasures  of  children.  How 
greatly,  for  instance,  they  delight  in 
playing  at  being  grown  up  !  Nothing 
gives  them  keener  pleasure  than  being 
treated  like  their  elders.  It  is  partly  the 
importance  of  it,  but  largely  also  the 
exercise  of  imagination  and  an  appre- 
ciation (duly  suppressed)  of  the  fun  of  the 
situation. 

A  few  years  ago  it  fell  to  the  lot  of  the 
writer  to  witness  the  joys  of  two  very 
small  people  who  came  by  themselves  (oh  ! 


THE  CHILD'S   PLEASURES    125 

the  importance  of  it)  upon  a  regular 
visit. 

They  were  some  six  and  seven  years  old, 
and  a  most  reserved  and  old-fashioned 
little  couple  in  their  ways. 
TwrchiW^e'S.  The  elder,  Reggie,  was  singu- 
larly  quiet  and  thoughtful. 
His  face,  of  considerable  beauty  of  feature, 
with  large  grey  eyes,  wore  ordinarily  an 
expression  of  solemnity,  if  not  of  melan- 
choly, and  it  required  an  intimacy  of  some 
considerable  standing  to  obtain  more 
than  monosyllabic  replies  in  his  high  but 
very  gentle  voice. 

His  companion  was  a  little  sister 
properly  called  Marjorie,  but  who  had 
hardly  yet  outgrown  "  Baby."  Such  an 
upright,  delicate  dimpled,  flower  of  a  child, 
with  the  same  big  eyes  and  curling  lashes 
as  her  brother,  but  with  a  reserve  far 
more  easily  overcome,  and  a  much  greater 
readiness  to  break  into  smiles  or  even 
indulge     in     romps.       She     completely 


126        BOOK  OF  THE  CHILD 

"  mothered "  Reggie,  and  her  anxiety 
that  he  should  do  the  right  thing,  and 
her  Uttle  quick  orders  to  him,  were  most 
amusing. 

Their  hostess  met  them  a  few  days 
before  their  visit,  and  their  excitement 
about  it  all  was  intense. 

"  What  luggage  shall  you  bring  ?  " 

"  Oh  !  just  a  hat-box  or  two  !  " 

*'  It's  all  arranged  about  our  visit  to  you 
I  do  so  love  arranging  things.  Couldn't 
we   have  some  more   arrangements  ?  '* 

This,  of  course,  Baby.  So  every  conceiv- 
able thing  was  "  arranged,"  and  every 
minute  of  the  two  days  planned  out. 
Their  hostess  told  them  she  should  expect 
them  to  bring  lots  of  things  in  their 
luggage. 

*'  Oh  !  "  said  Baby,  "  I  shall  bring  my 
tea -gown.  And  what  shall  yoti 
wear  ?  " 

The  day  arrived,  and  they  were  met  at 
the  station. 


THE  CHILD'S   PLEASURES    127 

*'  Well,  what  luggage  have  you 
brought  ?  '' 

"  Twelve  hat-boxes,"  promptly  repHed 
Reggie  with  a  flicker  of  humour  just 
lighting  up  his  face.  One  turned  up,  and 
was  found  to  contain  the  entire  clothing, 
etc.,  of  the  pair.  This  vast  piece  of 
luggage  was  put  in  Baby's  room,  and  then 
came  the  request  that  they  might  be 
allowed  to  unpack  for  themselves.  Reggie 
was  quickly  hurried  into  his  own  room 
with  his  tiny  pile  of  belongings,  and  then 
Baby  began  to  unpack  hers.  She  was 
shown  a  large  wardrobe,  as  well  as  a  good- 
sized  chest  of  drawers,  and  evidently  felt 
that  it  would  be  infra  dig,  not  to  use  them 
both,  so,  after  putting  one  wee  garment 
in  one  drawer  and  one  in  another  till  each 
held  something,  she  gravely  took  the 
little  bag  which  held  her  shoes  and  hung 
it  up  in  solitary  grandeur  in  the  wardrobe  ! 

The  extreme  politeness  and  considera- 
tion of  these  little  visitors  were  continually 


128         BOOK   OF  THE  CHILD 

coming  out.  Baby  was  asked  whether 
she  would  Hke  a  room  to  herself  or  a  sofa 
in  her  hostess's  room. 

"  You  see,  Aunt  E.,  I  don't  know  what 
to  say,"  was  the  reply.  On  being  pressed 
further,  she  said,  "  Well,  I  was  thinking 
about  the  beds  !  It  seems  a  good  deal  of 
trouble  just  for  us.  You  see,  they  are  big 
beds." 

Reggie,  too,  was  just  as  anxious  to 
consider  others.  "  If  it  isn't  too  much 
trouble,"  he  said,  on  being  asked  whether 
something  should  be  brought  him.  ''  I'm 
afraid  when  we  are  gone  you  will  say 
'  bother  those  troublesome  children  '  !  " 

He  was  just  as  attentive,  too,  to  his 
sister,  buttoning  her  little  petticoat  for 
her  and  anything  she  couldn't  manage 
for  herself. 

The  whole  of  the  proceedings  described 
so  far  were  practically  part  of  a  charade 
or  play.  The  children  were  for  these 
two  days    grown-up    people,    and  being 


THE  CHILD'S   PLEASURES    129 

endowed  with  an  extra  allowance  of 
imagination,  played  their  part  in  every 
detail. 

Not  that  they  could  keep  it  up  quite 
all  the  time  !  There  were  games  at  hide- 
and-seek  that  entirely  dispelled  illusion 
for  a  while.  Then  there  were  visits  to  the 
poultry  yard  and  animals,  when  it  was 
impossible  to  put  such  restraint  upon  one's 
feelings  of  surprise  and  delight  as  to 
appear  properly  blas6  and  grown  up. 
For  instance,  when  Baby  suddenly  dis- 
covered a  large  field-spider,  there  was  a 
scream  of  astonishment  as  she  exclaimed, 
*'  Oh,  Aunt  E.,  here's  a  thing  with  a  lot 
of  legs  and  a  dot  in  the  miggle  !  "  And 
again,  in  the  poultry  yard,  it  was  scarcely 
in  keeping  with  the  part  of  a  lady  who 
had  arrived  at  years  of  discretion  to  say, 
"  How  I  should  Hke  to  lay  in  those  nice 
lickle  nests  !  " 

But  on  the  whole  these  two  little  people 
carried  out  their  intention  of  paying  a 

9--(23T9) 


130         BOOK   OF  THE  CHILD 

real  grown-up  visit  with  perfect  success 
up  to  the  very  moment  when  they  were 

once  more  in  the  train  by 
'^\eavt^''  themselves   on  their   return 

journey  of  some  six  miles, 
each  one  grasping  firmly  their  half-ticket, 
and  the  last  ghmpse  we  had  was  of  Reggie 
gravely  lifting  his  little  straw  hat,  as  the 
train  steamed  out  of  the  station.  There 
is  all  the  difference  in  the  world  between 
this  sort  of  playing  at  being  grown  up,  and 
the  assumption  of  airs  and  graces  which 
some  children  display.  The  one  is  real 
pleasure,  the  other  the  merest  mockery. 
Children  who  are  no  sooner  out  of  the 
nursery  than  they  ape  their  elders  in  an 
insatiable  desire  for  a  succession  of  smart 
clothes  and  evening  parties  are  seldom 
happy  children.  Those  who  care  for  their 
little  ones  and  want  to  fill  their  early 
years  with  real  pleasures  will  take  care 
to  avoid  the  causes  which  produce  children 
such  as  these. 


THE  CHILD'S   PLEASURES   131 

It  may  perhaps  be  said  that  the  main 
factors  are  two. 

If  children  be  allowed  to  absorb  the 

spirit  that  is  pervading  the  world  at  the 

present    day — the   spirit    of 

Modern       revolt  against  all  authority, 

Authority,     the    notion,    that    is,    that 

everyone   is   to   do   exactly 

as  he  or  she  chooses — that  will  of  itself 

bring  about   a  state   of  mind  which  is 

destructive   of   real   happiness.     Notions 

such  as  these  are  quickly  picked  up,  and 

parents  who  themselves  set  all  rules  and 

authority  at  defiance  cannot  expect  their 

children  to  submit  to  control. 

Then  there  is  a  second  cause  which  is 

too  often  at  work,  and  which  does  a  great 

deal  towards  turning  some 

Self-Conscious   children    into     disagreeable 

Jealous  " 

Children.       and  discontented  young  folk. 

When  people  are  continually 

trying    to    emulate    if    not    excel    their 

neighbours    in    appearance    and    in    the 


132         BOOK  OF  THE  CHILD 

entertainments  they  provide,  children  are 
quick  enough  to  take  their  cue  from  what 
they  see  and  overhear,  with  the  result 
that  they  are  miserable  if  they  think  their 
frocks  are  less  fashionable  than  their 
neighbours',  and  are  rude  and  disconten- 
ted if  at  one  party  they  do  not  get  as 
handsome  presents  as  at  some  other. 

This  is  all  wrong,  and  distinctly  dimin- 
ishes the  pleasure  that  these  children 
might  otherwise  enjoy. 

It  would  without  doubt  add  enor- 
mously to  the  real  happiness  of  children 
if  a  league  could  be  formed 

o^s^mpieJ    ^f  ^11  parents  who  should  be 

^pLn^ies.'  ^^^^^  ^^  ^^^^^  children's 
parties  within  certain  speci- 
fied bounds  of  simplicity  and  within 
certain  reasonably  early  hours. 

But  this  is  by  the  way.  It  is  pleasanter 
to  turn  for  another  minute  or  two  to  speak 
of  the  pleasures  childlike  children  find  in 
the  simple  joys  that  lie  around  their  path. 


THE  CHILD'S   PLEASURES    133 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  more 

natural  the  employment  or  amusement 

the  greater  the  pleasure.    A 

Natural       little   girl   is    given    a   tiny 

fhe^Most     dustpan    and     allowed     to 

Enjoyed,      sweep  the  carpet,  or  she  has 

a  drawer  full  of  odds  and 

ends  and  is  asked  to  sort  and  arrange 

them.     She  will  spend  an  entire  morning 

in  such  an  occupation  with  the  keenest 

pleasure,  and  if  anyone  who  has  watched 

her  should  also  see  her  when  dressed  up 

at  some  "  smart  *'  party  that  same  evening 

there  would  be  no  doubt  in  the  mind  of 

the  onlooker  as  to  which  brought  most 

real  happiness  to  the  child. 

One  of  the  greatest  dehghts  that  can  be 
afforded  to  children  must  come  in  for  a 
word  of  mention.     Who  does 
Story-telling,  not    remember    the    story- 
teller of  his  or  her  childhood  ?. 
Perhaps  it  was  *'  father,"  who  when  he 
came  in  at  tea  time  would  let  the  whole 


134         BOOK  OF  THE  CHILD 

family  swarm  on  and  about  his  arm-chair, 
and  would  tell  another  bit  of  the  thrilling 
tale  which  he  always  broke  off  each 
evening  at  the  very  most  exciting  point. 
Or  sometimes  it  would  be  one  of  the  bigger 
children,  gifted  with  an  extraordinary 
power  of  calling  up  robbers  and  demons, 
who  enthralled  an  audience  by  the  nar- 
ration of  horrors  which  stimulated  their 
imagination  and  made  them  feel  deli- 
ciously  "  creepy."  No  such  things  as 
*'  chestnuts "  exist  for  children.  The 
oftener  the  story  has  been  told  the  better 
they  like  it,  and  never  hesitate  to  choose 
an  old  favourite  before  a  brand  new  tale. 
But  this  chapter  is  already  becoming 
too  long.  It  would  be  easy  to  enumerate 
numberless  simple  amusements  which 
bring  real  pleasure  to  children.  But  the 
same  moral  can  be  drawn  in  every  case. 
The  simpler  and  more  natural  the  occu- 
pation the  greater  the  pleasure.  Do  not 
all  children  revel  in  playing  with  the  earth 


r*' 


THE   CHILD'S   PLEASURES    135 

and  water  that  lie  about  their  feet  ? 
Whether  they  are  the  lucky  ones  who  can 
build  sand  castles  and  let  the  sea-water 
fill  the  moats,  or  whether  they  can  only 
play  in  the  gutter  by  their  door,  they  are 
ten  times  happier  in  such  pleasures  as 
these  than  in  any  grander  or  more 
elaborate  amusements.  To  the  recogni- 
tion of  this  fact  those  who  plan  children's 
pleasures  will  owe  their  chief  success. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE   CHILD — ITS   PATHOS 

Just  as  there  is  no  summer  without  its 
cool  grey  days,  so  among  the  sunn}^ 
crowd  of  children  about  our  path  there  is 
here  and  there  a  child  who  seems  to  live 
beneath  a  shadow. 

Just,  too,  as  the  tender  colouring  of  the 
grey  landscape  has  a  special  charm  which 

only  needs  the  seeking,  so 
CWidren.      these  quiet  little  ones  amply 

repay    the    observation    of 

those  who  do  not  let  them  steal  away  and 

escape  notice  as  they  always  wish  to  do. 

No  one  who  cares  for  children  can  have 

failed  to  have  come  in  contact  with  some 

who  are  silent  when  their  comrades  shout, 

grave  when  the  rest  are  laughing,  and 

look   wistfully   on   when   games   are   in 

progress. 

136 


THE  CHILD'S   PATHOS       137 

They  are,  possibly,  well  enough  liked 
by  the  rest,  but  somehow  they  are 
different,  and  because  of  this  difference 
go  their  own  way  to  which  the  others  have 
become  accustomed. 

There  are,  of  course,  sometimes  obvious 
reasons.     In  the  greater  number  of  cases 

the  child's  health — or  want 
ft/orfference.  ^^  health-accounts  for  the 

separateness  of  its  life  and 
pursuits.  Sometimes,  it  may  be  feared 
that  harsh  surroundings  in  its  home  have 
crushed  the  spirit  out  of  it  and  made  it 
timid  and  suspicious.  But  sometimes  it 
is  a  mere  question  of  temperament.  The 
child  has,  perhaps,  inherited  some  queer 
strain  of  sentimental  self-consciousness, 
or  some  nervous  dread  of  publicity,  which 
causes  it  to  be  like  the  famous  parrot 
which  said  little  but  thought  a  lot — a 
condition  of  things  exactly  the  reverse 
of  what  may  usually  be  found  in  a 
thoroughly  healthy-minded  child.      But, 


138         BOOK   OF  THE  CHILD 

whatever  the  cause,  it  is  for  the  most 
part  true  that  it  is  well  worth  while  to 
lay  siege  to  the  affections  of  such  a  child, 
and  try  to  establish  confidential  relations. 
The  result  of  a  habit  of  thoughtfulness 

and  of  a  life  a  little  lonelier 
ChUdfen,      ^^^^    ^hat    of    others    will 

generally  tend  to  the  laying 
up  a  store  of  quaint  fancies  and  imaginings 
about  the  objects  of  everyday  life,  as  well 
as  often  developing  a  sympathy  which 
the  lonely  child  has  no  wish  and  few 
chances  to  exhibit.  These  things  are 
well  worth  bringing  to  the  light  by  anyone 
who  is  sufficiently  persevering  to  win  the 
affection  and  confidence  of  the  little  one. 
Such  children  are  not  averse  to  all 
companionship,  but  are  terribly  afraid  of 
anyone  who  does  not  understand.  They 
have  often  enough  been  laughed  at,  and 
they  keep  their  thoughts  and  interests 
carefully  hidden  from  all  who  cannot  be 
absolutely  trusted,  and  it  is  so  very  few 


THE  CHILD'S   PATHOS       139 

indeed  whom  they  discover  to  belong  to 
this  category.  Once,  however,  they  are 
perfectly  sure  of  anyone,  they  will  lead 
them  to  their  secret  haunts  in  field  or 
garden,  will  confide  to  them  their  dread 
of  certain  places  and  people,  and  finally 
will  allow  their  most  cherished  wishes  to 
escape  them.  In  almost  all  cases  the 
great  desire  of  such  children  is  for  some- 
thing to  love,  or  for  somebody  in  whose 
affections  they  may  be  first. 

In  this  connection  it  is  curious  to  notice 

how  early  the  natural  bent  of  a  child  will 

show   itself.     This    is    espe- 

^^%^atural    ^j^^y    ^^e    case    with    girls 

whose  mothering  propensity 
comes  out  at  a  very  tender  age.  A 
wistful  little  maiden  who  always  seemed 
to  want  something  more  than  satisfied 
her  more  boisterous  companions  had  slid 
her  hand  into  that  of  a  grown-up  friend 
in  whom  she  had  learnt  to  confide,  and 
who  was  trying  to  amuse  her  by  telling 


140         BOOK  OF  THE  CHILD 

her  about  a  litter  of  puppies  which  had 

been  born  to  a  retriever  called  Topsy. 

Looking  down,   the  lady  saw  that   the 

child's  face  had  grown  serious  even  to 

sadness,  which  was  accounted  for  by  the 

conversation  that  followed. 
Not  a^Mother     cc  jj^^  ^j^  -^  j^^^^  p  „  ^^j^ 

the  nttle  girl.  "  I  think  she 
is  four,"  was  the  answer.  At  once  the 
child's  eyes  filled  with  tears  as  she  sighed, 
"And  I  am  six  and  I'm  not  a  mother  yet ! " 
With  boys  it  will  generally  be  found 
that,  if  they  have  taken  to  solitary  ways, 

and  belong  to  the  class  of 
Se^ets^      children  who  are  pathetically 

different  to  the  rest,  they 
have  some  bent,  some  special  interest, 
which  they  keep  carefully  to  themselves 
until  a  really  sympathetic  friend  wins 
their  secret  from  them.  Not  infrequently 
it  is  a  hiding-place  inside  a  bush  or  in 
some  corner  of  the  garden  where  rubbish 
has  been  thro^\^l  and  where  the  small  boy 


THE  CHILD'S   PATHOS       141 

has  made  himself  a  '*  house  '*  with  pieces 
of  an  old  packing  case  and  any  other 
oddments  that  have  come  to  hand. 
Sometimes  it  is  an  animal  of  which  he  has 
found  the  home  and  with  which  he  spends 
most  of  his  spare  time.     A  toad  in  a  hole 

in  a  wall  was  for  a  long  time 
The  Toad,     the    secret    joy    of    a    very 

small  boy  until  his  little 
sister  confided  to  him  that  she  had  got  a 
toad  in  a  hole  close  by,  which  on  exam- 
ination proved  to  be  the  same  animal 
which  had  two  outlets  to  its  abode  !  The 
boy's  secret  being  thus  discovered  all  his 
pleasure  was  gone,  and  he  at  once  deserted 
his  pet. 

The  present  writer  happened  once  to 
pay  a  visit  to  some  friends  who  had  a 

little  son  of  about  three  or 
'^^*' Frogs^r"^  four  years  old.     This  little 

fellow  used  often  to  dis- 
appear in  the  garden,  and  was  evidently 
in  enjoyment  of  some  secret  which  he  was 


142         BOOK   OF  THE  CHILD 

too  shy  to  impart  to  anyone.  After  a  few 
days  his  confidence  was  gained,  and  he  led 
off  his  new  friend  to  a  spot  where  there 
was  a  muddy  httle  pool  about  two  feet 
in  diameter.  On  the  edge  of  this  were 
two  frogs  which  he  had  found  dead,  and 
had  brought  here  hoping  that  they  would 
revive.  They  had  been  dead  for  some 
time  and  were  anything  but  sweet,  but 
he  stroked  them  and  looked  up  in  the 
most  wistful  way  to  see  whether  his  pets 
were  properly  appreciated.  It  was  really 
pathetic  to  see  his  eyes  fill  with  tears 
when  he  was  told  that  they  were  quite, 
quite  dead,  and  must  be  buried  without 
further  delay. 

Sometimes,  of  course,  the  pathos  in  a 
child  is  accounted  for  by  some  physical 
infirmity  which  separates  him  or  her 
from  the  rest.     Here  is  an  instance. 

A  painter  had  one  day  set  up  his 
umbrella  and  easel  close  to  a  little  hamlet, 
and  when    school    was    over   there  was 


THE  CHILD'S   PATHOS       143 

the  usual  rush  of  the  children  to  look  at 
''  the  man  "  and  see  what  he  was  doing. 
Hating  solitude  and  delight- 
Children  ing  in  children,  he  faced 
Painter  Man.  quickly  round  upon  his  stool 
and  gave  them  a  nod  of 
welcome.  "  Come  to  see  what  sort  of  a 
picture  I'm  making,  eh  ? "  was  his  greeting. 
"Yezzur,"  was  the  reply  in  the  broad 
dialect  of  the  district.  "  Well,  now, 
what  do  you  think  of  it  ?  "  he  asked, 
as  he  held  it  up  for  them  to  see.  At 
first  there  is  only  much  drawing  in  of 
breath  and  many  an  ''  Oh  !  "  as  they 
look  at  what  seems  to  them  at  first 
sight  a  meaningless  kaleidoscope  of 
colours.  At  last  one  makes  out  one 
thing  and  one  another  in  the  unfinished 
drawing.  "  There's  the  tree,  look  !  " 
"  See  the  blue  sky ! "  "I  can  see 
William  Timms's  house,  /  can  !  "  And 
so  on  for  some  minutes  until  almost  every 
part  of  the  picture  had  been  properly 


144         BOOK  OF  THE  CHILD 

identified.  Just  then  a  shout  from  one 
or  two  women  proclaimed  the  fact  that 
those  who  wanted  any  dinner  had  better 
make  haste  and  get  it  while  they  had  a 
chance.  This  gave  **  the  man "  a  few 
quiet  minutes  during  which  he  ate  his  own 
sandwiches,  but  before  he  had  swallowed 
the  last  mouthful  the  troop  of  children 
was  back  again  to  see  all  that  might  be 
seen  before  the  school  bell  rang. 

It  was  during  these  last  few  minutes 
that  the  painter  noticed    a  boy   whom 

he  had  not  seen  among  the 
Jacob.        others   before.      He   was   a 

little  chap — not  more  than 
six  or  seven  years  old — with  soft  fair  hair 
and  a  pink  and  white  complexion.  Two 
things  attracted  his  attention  to  the  boy. 
One  was  the  extreme  neatness  and  clean- 
ness of  his  dress.  His  clothes  were  not 
of  better  material  than  those  of  the  other 
boys,  but  they  were  so  very  tidy.  His 
collar,  too,  was  spotlessly  white,  and  his 


THE  CHILD'S   PATHOS       145 

hair  glossy  and  unruffled.  The  other 
thing  about  him  which  seemed  ^ecuHar 
was  the  amount  of  deference  and  con- 
sideration that  was  shown  him  by  the 
rest.  He  was  given  a  good  place  close 
behind  "  the  man's  "  elbow,  and  once  or 
twice,  when  there  was  some  pushing,  one 
of  the  children  called  out,  *'  Now,  then, 
keep  quiet,  can't  you  ?  Don't  you  see 
you're  shovin'  against  Jacob  Joyce  ?  " 

Now  and  then,  too,  there  would  be  a 
curious  sort  of  appeal  to  the  little  fellow  : 
someone  would  say,  '*  Isn't  it  lovely, 
Jacob  ?  There's  red  and  blue  and  all 
manner  of  colours  ?  "  And  Jacob  would 
solemnly  answer  "  I  likes  yed  !  "  Then  a 
whisper  would  go  round,  "  Hearken  to 
him  ;   he  likes  red,  Jacob  does." 

And  all  the  while  to  the  painter  as  he 
worked  away  there  seemed  something  odd 
about  the  boy,  and  something  unusual 
if  not  uncanny  in  the  way  in  which  the 
others  treated  him. 

xo— (2319) 


146         BOOK   OF  THE  CHILD 

At  last  the  school  bell  rang,  and  all  but 
three  of  the  children  rushed  off  helter 
skelter  to  their  lessons.  The  three  who 
stayed  behind  were  a  big  girl  of  twelve 
who  was  looking  after  a  baby  sister,  and 
Jacob  Joyce. 

The  picture  was  nearing  completion. 
That  most  absorbing  half-hour  had 
arrived  when  just  a  little  deepening  of  a 
shadow  here,  and  the  wiping  out  of  a  curl 
of  smoke  there,  made  all  the  difference, 
and  the  painter  was  wrapped  up  in  his 
work,  and  scarcely  noticed  the  three 
children. 

The  elder  girl  was  busy  plaiting  grasses, 

and  the  baby  had  crawled  nearer  and 

nearer  to   the  easel  until  a 

Jacob  Sings,  paint  brush  suddenly  shaken 
out  sprinkled  her  little  face 
and  she  set  up  a  dismal  cry.  In  vain  the 
sister  hushed  and  rocked  her.  Nothing 
seemed  of  any  use  until  the  girl  said, 
"  Shall  Jacob  sing  to  baby  ?  "     Then  the 


THE  CHILD'S   PATHOS       147 

sobs  were  instantly  quieted,  and  from 
close  behind  him  the  painter  heard  a 
strangely  sweet  voice  begin  clear  and  true 
''Once  in  'oyal  David's  City."  Right 
through  the  dear  old  children's  hymn  the 
singer  went,  and  long  before  the  end 
each  of  the  three  listeners  were  enthralled 
by  the  melody. 

Leaning  a  little  backwards  the  big 
grown  man,  whose  thoughts  had  gone  back 
to  the  days  when  he,  too,  sang  carols, 
stretched  out  a  hand  to  caress  the  little 
singer  who  edged  himself  along  the  grass 
till  he  was  able  to  rest  his  head  against  the 
painter's  knee.  So  they  stayed  quietly 
for  a  time,  a  detail  being  now  and  then 
added  to  the  picture,  while  a  Uttle  hand 
crept  up  every  few  minutes  to  touch  the 
coat  or  stroke  the  knee  of  the  boy's 
new-found  friend. 

So  the  other  children  found  them  when 
they  came  back  from  school.  Now  the 
picture    was     more     easily    understood 


148         BOOK   OF  THE   CHILD 

and  far  more  to  their  liking,  but  in  all 
their  anxiety  to  see,  no  one  pushed  in  front 

of    little   Jacob.     '' Bootiful 
''^Blhir^'    picture,"    he   said,    and    all 

of  them  echoed  his  words. 
''  I  can't  do  a  picture,"  he  added,  and  the 
other  children  said  not  a  word.  "  No," 
said  the  painter,  '*  but  Jacob  can  make 
beautiful  music,"  and  stooping  down  he 
lifted  the  little  fellow  on  to  his  knee. 
Then  for  the  first  time  he  understood. 
Jacob  Joyce  was  blind. 

Although   children   frequently   fail   to 
realise  the  great  shadows  which  from  time 

to  time  darken  the  lives  of 

A  Child's     their  elders,  yet  sometimes 

Perception  -^ 

of  Sorrow,  a  perception  of  a  great  sor- 
row will  force  its  way  to  the 
mind  of  a  child,  and  nothing  more  pathetic 
can  be  witnessed  than  the  dumb  per- 
plexity with  which  a  child  faces  such 
trouble.  There  is  something  in  it  that 
reminds  one  of  the  wistful  expression  in 


THE  CHILD'S   PATHOS       149 

the  face  of  a  favourite  dog  when  it  is 
restlessly  wandering  about  a  house  watch- 
ing the  preparations  for  its  master's 
departure,  or  has  incurred  a  measure  of 
chastisement  for  an  offence  that  it  does 
not  understand. 

Two  little  boys  lived  at  a  small  farm- 
house on  the  outskirts  of  a  Cotswold 
village.       One   evening    the 

ery'^sBfue.  S^ey  homestead  with  its 
deep  stone-slatted  roof  was 
all  aglow  in  the  sunset,  the  latticed  win- 
dows blazing  like  so  many  separate  suns, 
while  beneath  them  chrysanthemums — 
yellow,  red,  and  white-— added  their 
brilliance  to  the  picture.  Close  by  an 
immense  elm  tree  shone  in  the  golden 
glory  of  its  autumn  robe.  Beneath  it  on 
an  old  dry  wall  the  two  little  boys  were 
perched  just  where  some  of  the  stones 
had  been  knocked  away.  One  was  sitting 
astride,  the  other  faced  the  road  with  his 
two  little  brown  legs  dangling  side  by  side. 


150         BOOK  OF  THE  CHILD 

The  boys  seemed  much  the  same  age, 
and  to  the  eyes  of  a  lady  who  was  passing 
by  very  much  aUke,  but  this  was  no  doubt 
owing  to  the  fact  that  they  were  each 
dressed  in  a  blue  blouse  and  each  had  a 
little  blue  flannel  cap  on  the  top  of  a 
cluster  of  fair  curls. 

It  was  not  long  before  the  lady  had 
made  friends  with  the  little  chaps,  and  she 
always  kept  an  eye  on  the  watch  for  the 
blue  blouses  when  she  was  walking  in  the 
fields  or  lanes  near  the  farm.  It  was 
soon  obvious  that  one  was  not  only  deci- 
dedly the  elder  of  the  two,  but  leader, 
protector,  champion,  and  hero  of  his 
little  brother.  The  devotion  of  the 
younger  child  was  touching.  If  he  were 
asked  a  question  he  mutely  referred  it  to 
the  other.  If  he  were  given  anything  he 
never  failed  to  see  whether  it  would  be 
acceptable  in  the  eyes  of  the  superior 
being  whom  he  worshipped.  The  two 
little   boys   blue   were   inseparable,    and 


THE  CHILD'S   PATHOS       151 

were  bound  by  the  best  of  all  ties  in  which 
each  needs  something  that  the  other  has 
to  give. 

There  came  a  day  when  the  lady,  who 
had  taken  the  pair  of  them  into  her 
affections,  went  away  from  home.     She 

did  not   return   for   several 
^lUe  r     weeks,  and  when  she  did  so 

she  determined  to  walk  the 
mile  and  a  half  from  the  station  to  the 
village  to  enjoy  the  freshness  of  the 
country  air  after  that  of  a  stuffy  railway 
carriage.  Her  shortest  way  was  by  a 
footpath  which  led  through  the  fields  at 
the  back  of  the  farmhouse.  Near  the 
stack-yard  was  a  bit  of  grass  ground, 
once  an  orchard,  where  a  few  old  apple 
trees  were  still  standing.  Here  the  clothes 
lines  were  accustomed  to  be  stretched 
between  two  or  three  sloping  posts.  Here 
she  had  often  noticed  the  bit  of  colour 
against  the  greys  of  the  house  and  the  old 
tree  stems  when  the  two  blue  blouses  had 


152         BOOK  OF  THE  CHILD 

undergone  the  necessary  wash,  and  were 
hanging  out  to  dry.  ...  On  this  par- 
ticular afternoon  the  lady  was  hurrying 
home,  delighting  in  every  well-known 
sight  and  sound.  She  heard  the  geese 
in  the  yard,  and  saw  the  smoke  curling  up 
against  the  great  elm- tree.  Then  she 
reached  the  orchard  wall  and  looked 
across.  The  patch  of  blue  caught  her  eye 
at  once :  but  there  was  something  wrong : 
never  before  had  she  seen  only  one  blouse 
on  the  line,  just  as  she  had  never  seen  one 
of  the  boys  alone.  What  did  it  mean  ? 
In  another  moment  she  caught  sight  of 
the  younger  child.  "  Why,  where  is 
Willie  ?  "  was  the  quick  question.  But 
there  was  no  answer.  For  a  moment  the 
boy  looked  at  her  with  big  wondering  eyes, 
then  turned  and  was  gone  in  an  instant. 
She  lost  sight  of  him  behind  the  laurel 
bush  near  the  farmhouse  door. 

So  long  as  she  lived  that  lady  will  never 
forget  the  dumb   pathos  of   the    child's 


THE  CHILD'S   PATHOS       153 

expression.  Its  explanation  was  one 
more  little  grave  in  the  children's  corner 
of  the  churchyard. 

These  examples  that  have  been  given 
are  of  cases  where  the  cause  of  the  pathos 
discerned  in  children  can  be  easily  traced. 
It  is  not  infrequently  the  case  that  some- 
thing unhappy — something  appealing — is 
noticed  in  a  child,  but  that  nothing  can 
be  discovered  to  account  for  it.  The 
observer  feels  sure  that  there  is  some- 
thing wrong,  but  all  efforts  to  bring  it  to 
light  or  to  be  of  any  help  are  baffled. 

It  was  not  so  long  ago  that  a  man  for 
whom  children  had  a  special  interest 
found  himself  compelled  to 
^^  Cottre*^^  pass  along  the  same  country 
lane  for  many  days  in  suc- 
cession. At  one  point  there  stood  a 
cottage  which  presented  a  blank  end  to 
the  road,  its  windows  and  door  facing  a 
small  garden  and  being  in  full  view  of 


154         BOOK   OF  THE  CHILD 

passers-by  for  some  distance.  It  had  at 
first  a  most  melancholy  appearance  owing 
to  its  having  been  for  a  long  time  un- 
occupied. The  windows  looked  gloomy 
and  black,  the  scrap  of  garden  was  over- 
grown and  bedraggled,  the  old  pear  tree 
on  the  front  had  been  blown  loose  and  one 
branch  hung  in  a  dissipated  manner  over 
the  porch,  while  on  the  path  lay  a  couple 
of  broken  stone  tiles  which  had  fallen 
from  the  roof. 

One  day,  however,  the  passer-by  noticed 

a  great  change.    Evident  signs  of  habitation 

made  their  appearance,  and 

'^CurSns^    signs  of  a  most  unusual  kind 

in  a  primitive  country-place, 

for  in  every  window  in  the  house  there 

appeared     bright    fresh     yellow    muslin 

curtains. 

Needless  to  say,  conjecture  was  rife  as 
to  the  newcomers  but  no  one  seemed  to 
know  who  they  were  or  whence  they  came. 

At  last  one  day  the  above-mentioned 


THE  CHILD'S   PATHOS       155 

pedestrian  passed  a  child  whom  he  had 
not  seen  before,  and  by  that  time  he  knew 
the  face  of  every  child  who  lived  within  a 
mile  or  two. 

She  was  about  nine  years  old,  and  better 
dressed  than  most  of  the  cottage  children. 
Her  white  pinafore  was  spotlessly  clean, 
and  of  fine  material,  and  there  was  some- 
thing dainty  about  the  white  linen  hat 
which  shaded  her  from  the  June  sunshine. 
But  the  most  striking  things  about  her 
were  her  hair  and  her  complexion.  The 
former  was  of  a  particularly  beautiful 
shade  of  red,  and  fell  thick  and  curling 
beneath  the  white  brim  of  her  hat.  The 
latter  was  pink  and  white,  and,  though 
perfectly  healthy,  a  strong  contrast  to 
the  browns  and  reds  of  the  villagers' 
bairns.  She  was  pushing  a  perambulator 
containing  a  thoroughly  well-appointed 
baby,  and  seemed  so  absorbed  in  the  task 
that  she  gave  no  sort  of  response  to  the 
man's  greeting  as  he  passed  by. 


156         BOOK   OF  THE  CHILD 

After  this  they  met  on  most  days,  and 

more  than  once  he  saw  her  entering  or 

leaving  the  house  with  the 

,.,  T^^         yellow  curtains.     She  never 

Mysterious      "^ 

Child.  seemed  to  speak  to  anybody, 
and  never  had  anything  to 
do  with  other  children  who  were  playing 
in  the  lane. 

Do  what  he  would  the  man  could  never 
get  so  much  as  an  answering  smile  from 
the  child's  full  and  sensitive-looking  lips. 
There  was  a  curious  air  of  mystery  about 
her,  and  a  reserve  and  habitual  melan- 
choly of  expression  that  went  to  his  heart. 
Added  to  this  there  was  an  appearance  of 
loneliness  about  her  life,  for  no  other 
member  of  the  family  ever  seemed  to  come 
to  the  door  when  she  went  or  came,  and 
for  all  that  could  be  seen  she  and  the  baby 
might  have  been  living  all  alone. 

To  a  child-lover  this  daily  vision  of 
an  unnaturally  solitary  and  probably 
unhappy  hfe  was  insupportable.     He  was 


THE  CHILD'S   PATHOS       157 

continually  on  the  look  out  for  a  chance 
of  breaking  through  the  girl's  reserve, 
and  trying  to  brighten  her  life. 

At  last  one  day  it  seemed  as  if  the 
opportunity  had  come. 

A  mile  or  so  beyond  the  cottage  the  lane 
crossed  a  stream  by  a  low  stone  bridge. 
It  was  a  cheerless  spot  in  the 
Stonf  Iridgl  dusk  Of  evening,  for  the 
water  ran  dark  and  stealthily 
between  old  grey  willow-trees,  but  here 
it  was  that  he  found  her,  by  herself  and 
leaning  over  the  low  stone  parapet.  He 
went  straight  up  to  her  and  said  "  Good 
evening,"  before  he  noticed  that  she  was 
crying  quietly,  as  those  people  do  whose 
tears  are  frequent.  Putting  his  hand 
over  hers  as  it  lay  on  the  wall  he  asked 
her  what  was  amiss.  For  one  second  she 
looked  up  in  his  face,  and  he  made  sure 
that  he  would  learn  her  secret.  The  next 
instant  a  look  of  terror  passed  over  her, 
and  she  snatched  her  hand  away.     Before 


158        BOOK  OF  THE  CHILD 

he  could  say  a  word  or  recover  from  his 
surprise  she  was  gone.  He  saw  the  white 
flutter  of  her  pinafore  as  she  ran  home- 
wards down  the  murky  lane,  and  he  never 
saw  her  again.  By  the  next  evening  the 
house  was  unoccupied  once  more,  and  he 
had  nothing  but  the  memory  of  a  child's 
pathos  which  could  never  be  explained. 

There  is  just  one  other  bit  of  pathos 

which  crops  up  now  and  again  in  children's 

lives.     It  happens  sometimes 

^  ChUd!*"^  ^^^^  ^^^^^  devotion  to  some- 
one who  has  shown  them 
kindness  or  taken  notice  of  them  is 
accidentally  overlooked,  and  the  con- 
sequent feeling  of  desertion  is  most 
pathetic.  Girls  are  more  liable  to  this 
experience  than  boys,  and  when  it  is  borne 
in  upon  a  small  child  for  the  first  time 
that  she  is  less  attractive  than  her  fellows 
and  must  in  consequence  expect  to 
receive  less  notice  even  from  those  upon 


THE  CHILD'S   PATHOS       159 

whom  she  has  poured  out  her  chief  store 
of  affection,  the  suffering  entailed  is 
frequently  acute. 

In  selecting  a  teacher  or  companion  for 
children  it  would  be  no  bad  plan  to 
observe  those  who  on  an  occasion  when 
many  Uttle  ones  are  gathered  together 
take  notice  of  the  ugly  children.  They 
are  the  true  child-lovers. 

An  example  of  the  kind  of  pathos 
referred  to  came  to  the  notice  of  the 
writer  some  years  ago  at  a  children's 
party,  and  he  set  down  the  sensations  of 
the  little  girl  in  question  in  some  lines 
which  she  is  supposed  to  speak. 

"  My  Bissop." 

I  went  to  the  Bissop's  party 

In  my  vi'let  velveteen  : 
The  others  went  last  year,  you  know, 

But  I  hadn't  never  been. 


I  was  only  four  ;    and  mother  said 
It  was  really  much  too  late  ! 

But  now  I'm  five — though  all  a  year 
Was  a  'mendous  time  to  wait ! 


160         BOOK   OF  THE  CHILD 


I  knew  the  Bissop  very  well, 

For  didn't  I  sit  on  his  knee 
When  he  came  for  Confummation, 

And  stopped  at  our  house  for  tea  ? 

He's  a  dear  old  man — our  Bissop — 

And  he'll  hardly  ever  miss 
Stroking  the  hair  of  a  little  girl 

And  giving  her  a  kiss. 

So  I  did  look  forward  to  going, 

(And  I  whispered  it  all  to  my  doll) — 

Though  Tom  said  he  didn't  see  the  good 
Of  taking  a  mealy-faced  Moll. 

But  I  didn't  know  I  was  ugly, 
And  nothing  about  being  shy. 

So  I  couldn't  sit  still  with  'citement 
All  the  whole  way  in  the  fly  ! 

We  got  there  at  last :    there  was  numbers 
Of  boys  and  girls  at  their  teas. 

And  oh  !  — in  the  corner — the  Bissop  ! — 
With  two  little  girls  on  his  knees. 

I  knew  they  was  much  more  pretty 
Than  me  ;    but  I  thought  perhaps 

Their  turn  would  be  over  bye  and  bye 
And  he'ld  take  me  up  on  his  laps  ! 

So  I  went  quite  close,  till  Susie 

Told  me  I  mustn't  stare — 
But  I  don't  b'lieve  it  mattered, 

He  didn't  know  I  was  there  ! 

Then  the  rest  of  the  children  got  dancing, 
And  I  was  knocked  down  on  the  floor, 

So  I  w'iggled  my  way  to  a  corner, 
And  sat  just  close  to  the  door. 


THE  CHILD'S   PATHOS       161 

For  I  thought  he'ld  pass  and  see  me, 

And  once  he  did  really  stand 
Quite  close  to  me — my  Bissop  ! — 

And  I  touched  his  coat  with  my  hand. 

But  oh  !    he  never  noticed  ; 

He  didn't  seem  to  see : 
And  when  he  was  kissing  anyone 

They  was  other  children  than  me, 

I  fink  I  must  be  ugly. 

It  wasn't  the  velveteen, 
'Cause  when  she  had  it  on  last  year 

Susie  looked  like  a  queen  ! 

Yes  ;    I  had  some  toys  and  a  bootiful  tea. 
And  my  cracker  had  got  a  ring  ! 

And  I  fink  I  enjoyed  the  party 
'Cept  p'raps  for  only  one  fing  I 

And  when  I  got  home  to  dolly, 
And  she  was  in  bed  by  my  side, 

I  twied  to  tell  her  about  it — 

But  she  was  asleep — and  I  cmed. 


I-  (a  19) 


CHAPTER  VIII 

WAYSIDE   CHILDREN 

The  study  of  some  particular  child  is  of 
great  interest.  If  the  child  be  one  with 
whom  one  is  brought  into  daily  contact 
the  study  may  become  most  exhaustive 
and  may  prove  the  means  of  imparting 
a  new  and  helpful  knowledge  of  childhood 
generally, 

A  noted  botanist  has  devoted  years  to 

the   study   of    the   chickweed.     He   has 

added  to  his  own  and  to  the 

Flowers  ^    general  knowledge  of  botany 

ChMren       ^  ^^^^  store  of  information 

by  his  temporarily  exclusive 

attention  to  this  one  plant.     But  he  would 

be  the  last  to  deny  the  charm  of  a  stroll 

through  lanes  or  fields  where  multitudes 

of   flowers   claim   passing  attention   and 

admiration.     To  pause  every  few  minutes 

to  observe  a  cluster  of  primroses,  a  bank 
162 


WAYSIDE  CHILDREN        163 

of  mercury,  or  even  a  pink-tipped  daisy — 
to  halt  suddenly  as  a  whiff  of  sweet  per- 
fume tells  us  of  a  hidden  nest  of  violets — 
to  gather  two  or  three  of  the  cowslips 
that  spangle  the  meadows — all  this  may 
belong  to  the  lightest  side  of  the  study  of 
botany.  But  it  has  a  charm  that  few  can 
resist,  and  thus  far  at  least  the  veriest 
beginner  can  follow. 

So  it  is  with  the  study  of  childhood. 
Almost  everywhere  we  go  on  our  daily 
road  of  life  there  are  children  to  be  found, 
children  differing  one  from  another  as 
widely  as  the  primrose  from  the  violet, 
but  each  one  worth  our  notice  and 
possessed  of  a  special  charm. 

It  is  extraordinary  to  find  on  talking  to 

one   and  another  how    few 

The  Loss  to   people  realise  the    pleasure 

Fa'ulo  Notice  that    they    lose    by    failing 

Children,      ^q  observe  the  little  wayside 

children.      There   are  many 

persons   capable  of  passing   by  without 


164         BOOK   OF  THE  CHILD 

seeing  the  loveliest  of  wayside  flowers,  but 
there  are  more  who  take  no  heed  at  all  of 
our  wayside  children.  And  yet,  if  the  loss 
to  the  former  is  great,  the  loss  to  the  latter 
is  greater  far.  A  flower  can  charm  the 
eye  or  delight  the  sense  of  smell :  it  can 
interest  the  scientific  observer  who  notes 
its  construction  and  mode  of  growth; 
but  that  is  all.  There  is  no  reflected 
light,  no  joy  felt  by  the  flower  and 
flashed  back  in  happy  answering  glance, 
be  its  eye  never  so  bright.  For  most 
people  there  is  no  increase  of  knowledge 
from  day  to  day,  and  certainly  there  is 
none  of  that  increase  of  understanding 
between  observer  and  observed  which 
lends  such  charm  to  the  chance  meetings 
with  the  children  who  are  about  our  path. 
Some  people  are  too  busy  and  rush 
along  in  too  great  a  hurry.  Some  people 
are  too  self-important.  They  are  grown 
up,  and  fancy  that  the  fact  that  they 
are  older  has  so  greatly  increased  their 


WAYSIDE  CHILDREN        165 

value  that  it  would  be  lowering  themselves 
to   take   notice    of  children.     They   will 

assert  that  they  cannot  be 
^^'^^'Sc*''*   bored  with  them.    They  will 

brush  them  impatiently  aside 
if  they  are  too  closely  approached  by 
children  when  other  people  are  present. 
There  is  a  certain  amount  of  insincerity 
in  all  this,  for  when  such  people  fancy 
that  they  are  unobserved  they  not 
infrequently  yield  to  the  natural  tempta- 
tion of  noticing  and  even  playing  with 
little  children. 

Some  people,  again,  fancy  that  to  let 
children  know  that  they  are  observed  is 

bad  for  their  character,  and, 

^*p^!r^r*^*   of    course,  it  is   possible  to 

Balance,      make    them     self-conscious 

and  conceited  by  taking  too 
much  notice  of  them.  On  the  other  hand, 
there  is  a  danger  of  children  becoming 
morbid,  nervous,  and  secret  if  they  find 
themselves    ignored    and   unappreciated. 


166        BOOK  OF  THE  CHILD 

A  child's  nature  is  essentially  responsive. 
It  opens  out  and  expands  to  a  show  of 
affection  just  as  a  flower  to  the  sunshine, 
and,  as  a  bud  will  become  withered  and 
diseased  when  continuously  exposed  to 
grey  skies  and  rain,  so  the  character  of  a 
child  will  suffer  irretrievable  damage 
from  a  prolonged  course  of  neglect  and 
cold  looks. 

Taking  it,  then,  for  granted  that 
nothing  but  good  is  likely  to  follow  from 
a  habit  of  noticing  the  children  whom  we 
meet,  it  is  interesting  to  remember  how 
greatly  our  days  have  been  brightened 
and  our  own  enjoyment  increased  by  this 
very  thing. 

There    is    a    long    grey    wall    leading 

towards  the  centre  of  the  village.     It  is 

what    is    called    a    "  dry " 

The  Children  ^^11,  that  is  to  say,  it  is  built 

Under  the 

Wall.        without  mortar.     There  is, 

therefore,  no  great  interest  in 

it  nor  any  special  beauty  except  where  the 


WAYSIDE  CHILDREN         167 

tints  of  the  little  lichens  catch  the  eye  of 
the  close  observer.  The  monotony  is 
broken  here  and  there  by  a  bulge  in  the 
stonework  where  an  elm-tree  in  the  field 
has  gradually  pushed  its  roots  against  the 
foundations. 

But  the  path  beside  the  wall  is  seldom 
lacking  in   attractions.     It  is   the  daily 

playground  of  the  children 
^ThiWren.''^  from  the  cottages  which  he 

back  from  the  road  between 
where  the  wall  ends  and  the  big  barn 
juts  out  endways  on  to  the  footpath. 
These  cottages  are  but  two  in  number  and 
have  all  the  picturesqueness  of  old  gables 
and  steep  stone-slab  roofs.  Hoary  and 
bent  and  lined  with  the  passage  of  years 
they  seem  to  speak  of  old  age  in  every 
feature.  But  they  echo  to-day  with  the 
sound  of  children's  voices,  and  their  old 
stone  flags  speak  from  morning  to  night 
with  the  patter  of  little  footsteps.  From 
these    two    houses    come    the    troop    of 


168        BOOK  OF  THE  CHILD 

children  who  play  beneath  the  long  grey 
wall.  As  a  matter  of  fact  there  are  ten  of 
them  altogether — six  from  one  cottage, 
four  from  the  other.  Of  these  the  two 
eldest  boys  of  the  six  are  just  getting  too 
old  to  play,  and  are  generally  doing  jobs 
for  mother,  or  even  sometimes  for  the 
farmer  for  whom  their  father  works,  on 
the  days  when  they  are  free  from  school. 
Then  there  is  in  each  house  a  baby  too 
small  to  be  trusted  anywhere  except  in 
its  cot  or  in  its  mother's  arms.  This 
leaves  six  children  for  the  wayside,  when 
the  two  Uttle  girls  who  are  old  enough  to 
go  to  school  have  returned  to  superintend 
the  amusements  of  the  rest,  or  four  who 
may  be  found  there  at  any  hour  of  the 
day  when  the  weather  is  at  all  propitious. 
What  bits  of  sunshine  they  make ! 
Let  the  day  be  as  dull  and  the  road  as 
monotonous  as  possible  it  cannot  be 
altogether  cheerless  when  a  couple  of 
little  chaps  with  sunny  tousled  hair  and 


WAYSIDE  CHILDREN        169 

ruddy  cheeks  stop  pulling  their  soap  box 
full  of  mud  and  stones  to  laugh  up  in 

your  face  and  say    **  Good 
Marnin'.      marnin',  Sir,"  though  it  be 

four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 
Whereby  hangs  a  tale.  These  two  urchins 
are  somewhere  between  two  and  four 
years  old,  and  it  had  been  their  habit 
to  greet  a  friend  with  a  friendly  pat  and 
a  shout  of  '*  Hey  !  "  Thereupon  one  dayt 
the  friend,  thinking  that  their  manners 
might  now  be  taken  in  hand  and  it  being 
then  shortly  after  breakfast,  said  **  You 
must  say  *  Good  morning,  Sir,'  "  which 
after  one  or  two  tries  they  very  creditably 
did,  and  have  continued  at  all  hours 
from  that  day  forward. 

But  further  down  the  wall  is  a  little 
group  of  three.     One,  a  still  smaller  boy, 

evidently  the  next  in  order 
cSn.      ^^    ^^^    fair-haired    family. 

He  cannot  yet  keep  up  with 
his  brothers,  and  so  is  taken  in  hand  by 


170        BOOK  OF  THE  CHILD 

the  two  dark-haired  httle  girls  who  look 
up  shyly  and  smilingly  from  beneath  long- 
fringed  lashes.  The  younger,  "  Nellie," 
has  been  ill  and  is  a  queer  little  figure 
pinned  up  in  a  shawl  which  reaches  to 
the  ground  ;  the  elder  is  a  fat  roundabout 
lady  of  nearly  four,  with  dark  beady  eyes, 
and  a  trick  of  sliding  a  grubby  little  hand 
into  that  of  her  special  friends  when  they 
stop  for  a  minute's  chat.  She  is  full  of 
character  and  thoroughly  appreciates  the 
importance  of  being  in  charge  of  the 
other  two,  looking  up  with  an  absurd 
apologetic  smile  when  the  little  invalid 
thrusts  forward  a  few  bits  of  dusty  grass 
and  a  much-mauled  daisy  as  an  offering 
to  the  powers  that  be. 

But,  meantime,  school  has  come  out, 
and  the  number  of  wayside  children  is 
rapidly  increasing.  A  girl  of  ten  or  so  is 
quietly  knitting  as  she  strolls  homewards, 
her  busy  fingers  hardly  stopping  as 
she  smiles   and  curtseys,   turning  as  an 


WAYSIDE  CHILDREN        171 

afterthought    to    ask  whether   she   may 
bring  some  water-cresses  to  the  house. 

Leaning  over  a  garden  wall  is  a  delight- 
ful little  person.     She  has  a  very  short 
way  to  go  home  and  knows 

Ga?den  Wall.   ^^^^^    ^^^   ^^^^    ^^^    ^^   ^^^^y 

yet.  So  she  stops  as  soon 
as  she  is  inside  the  wicket  to  indulge  in 
a  further  look  at  the  "  busy  world,"  of  the 
lane  in  which  she  lives,  and  to  seize  any 
chance  there  may  be  of  a  gossip.  The 
garden  ground  inside  the  wall  is  consider- 
ably above  the  level  of  the  road — a  most 
convenient  thing  for  this  sturdy  little  lady 
of  five,  for  it  enables  her  to  lean  her  arms 
upon  the  wall  and  her  face  upon  her  arms, 
and  so  to  survey  the  world  in  much 
comfort. 

Should  any  one  approach  whom  she 
wishes  to  avoid,  nothing  is  simpler  than 
to  crouch  down  and  hide  until  the  unde- 
sirable passer-by  is  out  of  sight.  Should, 
however,  a  friend  appear  who  is  welcome, 


172         BOOK   OF  THE  CHILD 

but  whose  presence  causes  a  sudden  fit 
of  shyness,  the  rosy  cheeks  are  quickly 
hidden  in  the  dimpled  arms  and  a  cloud  of 
dark  curls  tossed  over  all  until  a  finger 
judiciously  inserted  somewhere  where  the 
crease  of  the  fat  little  neck  may  be  sup- 
posed to  be  causes  a  chuckle  of  delight, 
and  a  crimson  face  and  two  great  blue 
eyes  are  momentarily  lifted  to  be  buried 
again  in  an  instant  beneath  the  mass  of 
soft  dark  hair.  But  this  is  a  regulation  bit 
of  by-play  which  never  lasts  long.  Con- 
fidences are  soon  exchanged  and  news 
imparted  about  the  sort  of  day  it  has 
been  in  school  and  the  health  of  a  doll 
which  fell  to  her  lot  at  the  last  treat. 
Then  sometimes — when  she  is  in  her 
tenderest  humour — a  pair  of  bright  red 
lips  are  put  up  for  a  kiss,  and  she  trots 
off  down  the  path  to  where  mother  is 
waiting  under  the  porch  of  clematis. 

And  so  it  would  be  possible  to  go  on  for 
long  enough. 


WAYSIDE  CHILDREN        173 

By  the  roadside,  in  the  field  ways,  by 

the  pathway  near  .the  brook,  at  many  a 

cottage  doorway,  by  many  a 

CounS.  wicket-gate,  our  country 
children,  in  the  beauty  of 
healthfulness  and  youth,  add  a  hundred- 
fold to  the  happiness  of  those  who  passing 
by  have  eyes  to  see  and  hearts  to 
understand. 

But  there  are  others.     It  is  impossible 

to  pass  along  the  side  streets  of  our  many 

towns    without   finding   the 

th^Town.  ^^^^^^  wayside  children.  They 
are  mostly  those  who  are  of 
that  specially  attractive  age  which  makes 
them  just  too  young  to  go  to  school  and 
just  too  old  to  be  kept  in  the  house,  so 
they  get  somewhere  between  the  two  places, 
and  are  generally  playing  in  the  gutter. 

They  have  not  often  the  same  beauty 
as  the  country  children,  and  they  have 
not  the  same  readiness  to  accept  the 
approaches     of      "  grown-ups."        Their 


174         BOOK  OF  THE  CHILD 

surroundings  almost  from  their  birth  make 
them  suspicious  and  on  their  guard  against 
possible  dangers.  But  they  are  children 
for  all  that.  They  will  notice  and 
respond  to  a  friendly  smile.  It  is  wonder- 
ful how  a  sharp  and  anxious  little  face  is 
beautified  by  the  smile  that  after  a 
moment  of  doubt  will  come  in  answer. 

Go  down  a  long  street  of  mean  houses, 
each  one  the  counterpart  of  every  other, 
and  see  if  there  be  anything  to  brighten 
the  way  that  can  compare  with  the  laugh- 
ter and  the  play  of  the  wayside  children. 
It  is  more  difficult  perhaps  to  appreciate 
these  little  ones,  but  it  should  be  remem- 
bered that  a  friendly  greeting  is  worth 
more  to  them  than  to  a  country  child  who 
gets  a  dozen  such  on  its  way  from  school. 
The  reflected  light,  the  responsive  happi- 
ness is  not  so  evident  at  first  sight  as  in 
the  case  of  country  children,  but  it  is  even 
more  real  when  once  confidence  has  been 
established. 


WAYSIDE   CHILDREN        175 

A  man  whose  daily  walk  led  him  down 
a  certain  dingy  street  saw  a  tiny  boy  with 

grimy  face  and  badly  devel- 

^Friendshf^'^  oped  limbs  playing  with  a 

was  Won.      banana  skin  in  the  gutter. 

The  man  nodded  to  him — 
the  boy  shrank  away  in  terror.  Next  day 
the  man  nodded  again.  The  boy  had 
decided  there  was  nothing  to  be  afraid 
of,  and  spat  at  the  man.  Next  day  the 
boy  only  stared.  The  day  after  he 
shouted  '*  Hi !  "  as  the  man  went  on. 
In  time  the  little  fellow  smiled  back  at 
the  greeting  which  he  now  began  to 
expect.  Finally  the  triumph  was  com- 
plete when  the  boy — a  tiny  chap— was 
waiting  at  the  corner  and  seized  the  man's 
fingers  in  his  dirty  little  fist.  It  was  a 
dismal  street,  but  it  became  one  of  the 
very  brightest  spots  in  all  that  man's 
walk  through  life. 


CHAPTER  IX 

children's  meetings 

In  these  days,  when  the  teaching  of  any 
virtue  necessitates  a  special  Society,  and 
when  no  Society  is  complete  without  its 
Children's  Branch,  children's  meetings  are 
matters  of  almost   everyday  occurrence. 

To  say  that  these  meetings  are  for  the 
most  part  successful  would  be  scarcely 
accurate.  They  are  too  numerous,  and 
speakers  to  whom  children  will  listen  are 
too  few. 

To  whom,  then,  will  they  give  a  hear- 
ing ?  That  is  a  difficult  question,  almost 
as  difficult  to  answer  as  if  it 

^^^1^^"^  were  asked  ''Who  can 
Children      whistle  a  tune  ?  "      At  all 

Listen  ? 

events  it  is  quite  as  difficult 
to  tell  people  how  to  gain  the  attention  of 
children  as  it  is  to  tell  them  how  to  whistle 
a  tune.     If  they  can,  they  can ;  and  if 

176 


CHILDREN'S   MEETINGS      177 

they  can't,  it  isn't  much  use  telhng  them. 
However,  it  is  just  possible  that  anyone 
who  has  looked  through  the  pages  of  this 
little  book  may  have  been  stirred  to  think 
about  children,  and  to  try  to  understand 
them.  In  that  case  a  step  has  been  taken 
on  the  road  to  being  one  of  those  lucky 
people  to  whom  children  will  listen. 

Small  boys  and  girls,  like  dogs,  know 
by   intuition   the   people   who   are   fond 

of   them,     and    unless    the 

K^^^^^th"*     would-be  speaker  belongs  to 

Friends.      this  class  he  need  not  hope 

to  get  their  attention. 
Grown-up  people  listen  to  someone  whom 
they  do  not  like  on  the  chance  of  finding 
something  to  criticize  or  ridicule.  Children 
simply  do  not  listen  at  all. 

But  a  love  for  children  is  not  enough. 
There  must  be  the  effort  to  understand 
them.  Unless  there  be  at  least  some 
comprehension  of  their  characters,  there 
is  bound  to  be  a  lack  of  that  sym- 
pathy   which  is  the  essential   requisite. 

I3--(23I9) 


178        BOOK  OF  THE  CHILD 

Somehow  or  other,  children  seem  to  feel 
at    once    whether    or    not 

Children 

must  be      there  exists  that  subtle  link 

between  themselves  and  the 

speaker,    and    if  they   cannot    discover 

it  they  will  not — perhaps  even  cannot — 

listen. 

The  mistake  so  often  made  is  to  imagine 

that  it  is  easy  to  understand  children. 

The   exact   opposite   is   the 

^  Arr""^*  ^^^^'  I^  is  far  easier  for  any- 
one  to  understand  grown-up 
people  whose  minds  work  much  in  the 
same  way  as  his  own  than  to  comprehend 
and  sympathise  with  the  curiously  complex 
thoughts  and  reasonings  of  children. 

It  has  been  seen  how  strangely  imagina- 
tive all  children  are,  but  at  the  same  time 
they  are  often  most  literal.  There  is  a 
well-kno\vn  story  of  a  little  girl  selling 
artificial  flowers  at  a  bazaar  who  was  so 
anxious  that  there  should  be  no  mistake 
on  the  part  of  the  purchasers  that  she 
said  to  each,  "  They  are  not  realy  you 


CHILDREN'S   MEETINGS      179 

know  ;    they  are  stuffed  /  "       No   doubt 

this  same  child  would  have 

Saleswoman    ^^^^^^^  these    same  flowers 

as  absolutely  real  if  she  had 

had  them  to  play  with,  and  would  have 

let  her  imagination  run  riot  with  them. 

Again,  children  are  often  so  tender- 
hearted that  they  cannot  bear  to  hear  of 
the  sufferings  of  other  children,  but  will 
inflict  intense  pain  on  some  insect  with 
complete  callousness,  the  reason  being 
that  the  one  comes  within  their 
comprehension  while  the  other  does  not. 

These  simple  matters  are  mentioned 
here  merely  to  show  the  complicity  of 
children's  characters,  and  to  try  to  induce 
those  who  wish  to  teach  them  to  abandon 
the  idea  that  it  is  perfectly  easy  to 
understand  children. 

The  next  necessity  for  anyone  who 
.  ,   ^.         wants  to  gain  the  attention 

Infection  ^ 

Spreads       of  a  group  of  little  ones  is 
to  remember  that  they  are 
extraordinarily  hable  to  infection, 


180         BOOK  OF  THE  CHILD 

Just  as  chicken-pox  introduced  into 
a  children's  party  by  one  child  will  spread 
to  most  of  the  others,  so  if  one  person  at  a 
meeting  be  thoroughly  interested  and 
keen,  the  rest  will  be  sure  to  catch  the 
infection.  That  person  must,  of  course* 
be  the  speaker. 

It  is  no  sort  of  use  talking  to  children 

because    the    speaker    has    got    to    say 

something.      It  is   essential 

^Usdest:*     ^^^^^  ^^  should  have  some- 
thing to  say.    Further,  it  is 
no  use  his  having  something  to  say  unless 
he  is  himself  enthusiastically  interested. 
Anyone  who  has  tried  to  speak  to  children 
will  know  how  their  attention  is  gone  in 
a  moment  so  soon  as  he  says  half-a-dozen 
words  of  mere  platitude.     All  this  points 
to  the  need  of  careful  preparation  and 
thorough  knowledge  of  what  he  has  to  say. 
Then  he  must  say  it  simply. 
E^ent?^     Children  do  not  understand 
long  words,  and  cannot  fol- 
low involved  sentences.    It  is  not  unusual 


CHILDREN'S   MEETINGS      181 

to  hear  the  chairman  of  a  children's 
meeting  begin  by  sa5dng,  '*  My  dear 
young  friends, — if  I  may  be  allowed  so 
to  designate  some  whose  acquaintance 
I  have  hitherto  not  been  so  fortunate  as 
to  cultivate — the  admirable  society  to 
which,  as  I  understand,  you  have  given 
your  adherence  inculcates  those  principles 
of  self-abnegation  which  have  long  been 
designated  as  the  true  foundations  of  all 
existence  at  once  joyous  and  altruistic." 
Can  anything  be  more  hopeless  ?  The 
succeeding  speakers  must  be  uncommonly 
vivacious  and  interesting  if  the  children 
are  to  recover  from  such  a  fatal  beginning. 

It  is  no  bad  thing  to  try  to  speak 
in  words  of  one  syllable.  If  that  is 
thought  hopeless  it  may  be  mentioned 
that  the  Bishop  of  Bristol 
MoSiawis.  not  long  ago  published  a 
whole  sermon  in  monosylla- 
bles, just  to  show  what  can  be  done. 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  a  serious 
mistake  to  talk  down  to  children.     That 


182         BOOK   OF  THE   CHILD 

is  to  say,  the  stuff  must  be  good  though 

the    language     be    simple. 

^R^^^^T      Children  resent  having  washy 

Feeble  Talk,  sentiments     served    up     to 

them    in     baby    language. 

They  can  understand  great  thoughts  if 

properly  presented. 

It  has  been  suggested  that  when  very 
young  indeed  they  dislike  the  non- 
sensical manner  in  which  they  are  ad- 
dressed by  many  adoring  women.  This 
has  been  given  as  one  reason  why  a  baby 
on  being  first  introduced  to  a  strange 
man  and  a  strange  woman  will  generally 
prefer  to  go  to  the  man.  The  supposition 
is  that  the  baby  thinks  he  will  stand  more 
chance  of  hearing  rational  language..  It 
is  certain  that  most  people  have  heard 
ladies  speak  to  little  children  in  a  babble 
which  they  would  not  use  to  a  self- 
respecting  dog  for  fear  he  should  bite 
them  ! 

But  to  speak  more  seriously :  yet 
another  matter  to  bear  in  mind  is  that 


CHILDREN'S  MEETINGS      183 

monotony  must  at  all  costs  be  avoided. 

A    speech    which,    however 

ingredfents    S^^^  ^^  other  ways,  is  entirely 

to  Chnd^rtJ!"   pathetic,    will  fail   to  keep 

children's  attention,  while  a 

speech  that  is  entirely  funny  will  fail  to 

rouse  their  interest  in  the  object  of  the 

meeting.     There  may  be  tears — a  few — 

there  must  be  laughter — now  and  then. 

There  must  be  stories  and  there  must  be 

morals  :  the  art  is  to  make  the  one  almost 

as  interesting  as  the  other. 

It  may  perhaps  be  allowed  to  insert 

here   one   or   two   practical   hints.     For 

instance,  it  is  absolutely  essential  that  the 

children  should  be  able  to  see  the  face 

of  the  speaker  clearly.    It  is 

^SeakV^    well  that  he,  too,  should  be 

Important,    able  to  See  the  faces  of  his 

audience.     But    the   former 

is  the  more  important.     If  a  room,  then, 

has  windows  so  placed  that  either  the 

speaker  or  the  children  must  face  them, 

it  is  better  that  the  speaker  should  do  so. 


184         BOOK   OF  THE  CHILD 

Children  find  it  almost  impossible  to 
listen  to  anyone  whom  they  cannot  see, 
a  fact  which  points  to  the  value  of  a 
sustained  effort  on  the  part  of  the  speaker 
to  catch  the  eye  of  first  one  and  then 
another  of  his  audience. 

That  leads  on  to  the  desirability  of 
getting  rid  so  far  as  possible 

Meetings  as   of  formality.    There  should 

Informal  '  -^ 

as  Possible,  be  no  barriers  between  the 
speaker  and  the  children.  A 
high  platform  is  fatal.  It  is  even  more 
fatal  when  there  is  also  a  table  and  a 
water  bottle.  The  speaker  should  be 
as  close  to  the  children  as  he  can, 
consistently  with  being  able  to  see  and 
be  seen. 

Here  is  a  description  of  a  thoroughly 

successful  children's  meeting.   A  large  low 

room   with   old   oak   beams 

^MeetTn?""^  and  a  dark  poUshed  floor. 

The  only  light  a  blazing  fire 

of  logs.     In   the   darker   corners   a   few 

groups    of   mothers    and    other    "  grown 


CHILDREN'S  MEETINGS      185 

ups."  Near  the  centre  of  the  floor,  two 
or  three  large  Indian  mats,  and  in  front 
of  them  a  big  low  easy  chair  facing  the  fire 
light.  In  this  chair  is  the  speaker,  and 
on  his  knees  and  on  the  arms  of  the  chair 
cluster  three  or  four  of  the  smallest 
children.  The  rest  are  sitting  just 
anyhow  upon  the  coloured  mats.  They 
are  all  perfectly  quiet  and  well  inclined 
for  a  rest,  for  they  have  just  had  a  suc- 
cession of  games — blind  man's  buff  and 
'*  Jacob,  where  art  thou?  "  the  favourites. 
For  half-an-hour  or  so  they  sit  and  listen 
to  the  story  of  other  children  less  happy 
than  themselves,  and  learn  how  best  to 
help  them.  Then  comes  '*  Good-night," 
and  they  go  away  with  impressions  still 
vivid,  and  with  new  and  brave  resolutions. 
Some  such  happy  informal  talks  as  this 
may  often  be  held  in  summer  on  the  grass 

beneath  the  trees,  but  the 
Meetings,     ^^^y    distractions    of    the 

open  air — a  butterfly  may 
turn    away    all    thoughts — make     such 


186        BOOK  OF  THE  CHILD 

meetings  more  difficult  than  those  held 
indoors. 

The  hints  given  in  these  few  pages  seem 
utterly  inadequate,  and  to  include  only 
such  matters  as  must  occur  to  all.  They 
have  been  set  down  here  as  some  reply 
to  the  frequent  question  ''  How  can 
children's  meetings  be  made  successful  ?  " 

There  is  but  one  more  word  to  be  said. 
Grown-up  people  are  so  greatly  distracted 
by  the  cares  and  occupations  of  their  daily 
life  that  it  needs  special  preparation  before 
they  can  understand  little  children.  To 
anyone  who  wishes  to  influence  their 
simple  yet  imaginative  minds  the  task  is 
almost  hopeless  unless  he  will  try  to  fulfil 
that  most  difficult  command  and  himself 
''  become  as  a  little  child." 


Appendix 


It  is  of  considerable  interest,  and  may  be  in  some 
cases  of  practical  value  to  those  interested  in  the 
well-being  of  children  to  notice  in  order  some  of  the 
principal  Acts  of  Parliament  which  have  been  passed 
during  the  last  twenty-five  years  on  behalf  of 
children  : — 

1883.  46  &  47  Vic,  c.  53.  Employment  of  Children 
in  Factories  and  Workshops. 

1885.  48  &  49  Vic,  c  69.  Criminal  Law  Amend- 
ment Act,  relating  to  criminal  assaults  on 
children  and  to  the  finding  of  children  in 
disorderly  houses. 

1887.  50  &  51  Vic,  c  58.  Employment  in  Coal 
Mines. 

1889.  52  Sc  53  Vic,  c  44.  The  Prevention  of 
Cruelty  to  Children  Act.  This  was  the  first 
of  the  three  Acts,  the  others  being  passed  in 
1894  and  1904  respectively.  Sometimes  called 
"  The  Children's  Charter."  It  is  very  wide  in 
application,  making  it  an  offence  to  assault, 
illtreat,  neglect,  abandon,  or  expose  a  child  under 
sixteen  years  of  age  in  a  manner  likely  to  cause 
such  child  unnecessary  suffering  or  injury  to 
its  health. 

1891.  54  &  55  Vic.  c.  3.  The  Custody  of  Children 
Act,  dealing  with  the  power  of  the  Court  to 
decline  to  issue  a  writ  for  the  production  of  a 
child  to  an  unfit  parent,  and  with  the  power  of 
the  Court  to  order  repayment  of  costs  of  bringing 
up  a  child. 

187 


188  APPENDIX 


1891.  54  &  55  Vic,  c.  75  &  76.  Further  enact- 
ments concerning  employment  in  Factories  and 
Workshops. 

1892.  55  &  56  Vic.  c  4.  Betting  Act.  whereby 
it  became  a  misdemeanour  for  anyone  for  the 
purpose  of  earning  commission  to  send  circulars, 
etc,  to  invite  an  infant  to  make  any  bet  or  wager. 

1893.  56  &  57  Vic,  c  48.  Reformatory  Schools 
Act.  giving  power  to  a  Court  to  remand  a  youth- 
ful offender  to  a  prison  or  to  any  other  place, 
which  has  in  practice  always  been  assumed  to 
be  a  workhouse. 

1894.  57  &  58  Vic,  c.  33.  Industrial  Schools  Act. 
Education. 

1897.  60  &  61  Vic,  c  57.  Infant  Life  Protection 
Act,  concerning  persons  receiving  infants  for 
hire  for  the  purpose  of  maintenance.  An  Act 
for  the  abolition  of  illicit  baby-farming. 

1899.  62  &  63  Vic,  c  37.  Poor  Law  Act.  concern- 
ing the  control  of  guardians  over  orphans  and 
children  of  persons  unfit  to  have  control  of  them 

1901.  1  Ed.  VII,  c  20.  Youthful  Offenders  Act, 
providing  for  (1)  the  removal  of  disqualifications 
attaching  to  felony,  (2)  the  liability  of  parent 
or  guardian  in  the  case  of  youthful  offenders, 
(3)  the  remand  of  youthful  offenders  to  other 
places  than  prisons,  (4)  the  recovery  of  expenses 
of  maintenance  from  parent  or  person  legally 
liable,  etc.,  etc. 

1901.  1  Ed.  VII,  c  27.  Intoxicating  Liquors  (Sale 
to  Children)  Act,  forbidding  the  sale  or  delivery 

save  at  the  residence  or  working  place  of  the 
purchaser    of    any    description    of   intoxicating 


APPENDIX  189 

liquor  to  any  person  under  the  age  of  fourteen 
years,  except  in  corked  and  sealed  vessels,  in 
quantities  not  less  than  one  reputed  pint.  It 
should  be  noticed  that  the  Licensing  Act  of  1872 
prohibited  the  sale  of  any  description  of  spirits 
to  any  person  apparently  under  the  age  of 
sixteen  years. 

1903.  3  Ed.  VII,  c.  45.  The  Employment  of 
Children  Act,  containing  restrictions  on  th« 
hours  of  employment,  age  of  employees,  nature 
of  employment,  etc.,  etc. 

There  have  also  been  several  Education  Acts 
either  passed  or  proposed,  but  it  is  doubtful  whether 
these  have  not  usually  had  their  origin  in  the  exi- 
gencies of  party  politics  rather  than  in  a  bond  fide 
desire  for  the  welfare  of  children.  An  honourable 
exception  is  the  Elementary  Education  (Defective 
and  Epileptic  Children)  Act  of  1899. 


Printed  by  Sir  Isaac  Pitman  &  Sons,  Ltd.,  Baih. 
(2319) 


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